Dwarka, Delhi

Dwarka, Delhi Dwarka Sub City
town

Dwarka is a sub city, located in the South West Delhi district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It is named after the legendary Dwaraka Kingdom.

Some parts of modern day Dwarka historically came under the colony of Pappan Kalan, which are now being developed under the 'Urban Expansion Projects' of the Delhi Development Authority. One of the largest residential areas in Asia, it is supposed to have a "Zero Tolerance" policy towards common misuses of land and the transgressions of any existing laws and regulations, such as encroachments, which are frequently thought to be flouted in other parts of Delhi. It is also frequently referred to as the "Model Township" and is also thought to be the cleanest of all parts of Delhi and nearby townships.

Dwarka boasts of BENSUPS Multispeciality Hospital that caters well to the population. Recently, the construction of the Indo-American Hospital has been started in dwarka.

Location

• The sub-city is located in southwest Delhi in the vicinity of International and Domestic airports.
• It is bounded by NH-8, Outer Ring Road, Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road, and the Rewari railway line.
• West End, Vasant Kunj, Vikas Puri, Vasant Vihar, Janakpuri residential areas and Delhi cantonment are the other major surrounding areas in west/south west Delhi.
• It is a short distance from Gurgaon.

Accessibility

A Metro Station in Dwarka

• Dwarka has a robust and well connected road network built to modern specifications to each of its sectors and adjoining areas.
• The sub city is well connected by metro rail with the city center and other major parts of the city by MRTS. The work to connect Dwarka with Connaught Place / ITO is now complete. There are a total of 8 metro stations in Dwarka and two more under construction (the highest for any colony).
• The sub city will be connected to the mother city by 4 major roads from all directions.
• If entering from the north, a 45 meter wide road connecting Pankha Road partly by covering Palam drain. Work was completed and the road opened for the public in 2007.
• If entering from the west, a 60 meter wide road connecting Najafgarh Road is constructed.
• If entering from the east, a 45 meter wide road through Cantonment area with a fly-over near Palam. The fly over and road were opened for the public in 2006.
• If entering from the southeast, a 60 meter wide road from NH-8 (with a rail underpass). The road was already constructed.
• Dwarka is expected to be connected to Gurgaon by metro in the near future due to its close proximity to the NCR town.

Population and Area

1. Population - 1,000,000
2. Total area - 5648 ha.
3. Area (Phase - I) - 1964 ha.
4. Area (Phase - II) - 1996 ha.
5. Existing built up - 1688 ha.
6. Dwarka project is planned with 29 sectors.
7. The land use distribution of Dwarka follows a distinct hierarchical pattern from sub-city level to sector level. The land use distribution is as under:

Housing

• The sub-city provides housing for about 500,000 families. Many of these families have not yet been able to move into their flats because of impending court orders which have so far failed to give relief to the thousands of people who are still stranded as a result of a C.G.H.S scam. Some however have pointed towards a "Builders Lobby" around the NCR region which they claim has intentionally tried to blockade court orders which would allow people to move in to Dwarka as a way to maintain demand for housing in the adjoining areas of Delhi, particularly Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad and other areas of Delhi. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Delhi has issued a list of 48 societies(CGHS) cleared for allotment. Recently another list of 57 societies(CGHS) have been cleared by Delhi High Court, however their allotment process may take some time.

The affected members of this scam have formulated an association called Association of Cooperative Affected Members (AOCAM) to fight for expediting the flat allotment process for these societies.

During last week of May, 2009 RCS/Secretary cooperative department of Delhi Government has asked for advise on allotment process for the 57 societies from Law department of Delhi Government specially with respect of charge sheeted members and those who have contested CBI charge sheet. Law department had provided the response in the month of October'2009. Subsequent to that the allotment of flats to cooperative members is still held up. RCS department has posted a public notice for 57 societies to submit their documents in October'09. Most of the societies from among 57 societies have already submitted their documents but RCS has not scruitinized nor forwarded the same to Chopra commettee.

Allotment process still remains in abeyance with RCS/cooperative department of Delhi Government, till that time about about 6000 families which are part of these 57 societies will continue to suffer by living in rented homes and paying EMI for the loan for these apartments.

• Co-operative Group housing forms a major component of housing type in Dwarka.

Residential Sector

File:Dwarkasc2.jpg

The planned Dwarka Sub City, seen in foreground while the unplanned and congested residential areas of West Delhi are visible in the background

• Each of the residential sectors has been envisaged to be self contained communities and has been designed for a population of about 30,000 each.
• Area of each sector is about 81 ha. (900 m x 900 m)
• Each sector is bounded on all sides by arterial roads of 45 m and 60 m.wide
• From arterial roads only 4 entries have been taken into the sector at a minimum distance of 450 m.
• A network of cycle tracks and pedestrian pathways has been proposed within each sector which link the housing clusters and their facilities within each sector.
• All sectors are proposed to have a mix of housing of various socio-economic groups. Though owing to the crime rate, which the local police has had little success in combating despite the number of police stations, it has been observed that only housing schemes of the middle upper income groups be given preference too.
• Sector 16b and 17a are the new booming areas within the sub city as the areas has seen various universities being established in recent times.

Commercial

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Pizza Hut outlet in Sector 5, Dwarka

• Dwarka has the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology , a flagship engineering college of the Delhi Government.
• Dwarka has witnessed a massive retail boom in the past couple of years with major brands now having set up shop in the sub city. The price of commercial space has skyrocketed in recent times and is expected to rise further as more middle and upper class residents begin to move in.
• The commercial hub of the city will be developed along the proposed Metro Railway line (MRTS) in a linear form.
• Until recently the commercial zone in Dwarka consists of two major markets in sector 6 and 10. Newer markets like Ashirwad chowk - which is the juncture of sectors 12, 11, 4 & 5 have recently come up.
• The entire commercial spine is connected to different sectors of Dwarka by 60 m and 45 m roads, which are the major bus routes.
• The location of the district center is of special significance, since this will be the major work and commercial center in Dwarka.
• Dwarka however lacks well behind in terms of commercial office space infrastructure and business investments compared to other NCR towns like Gurgaon and Noida. This is mainly because Dwarka has never had a real policy as regards to its zoning for commercial activity for use other than for retail. Gurgaon and Noida both known as prominent outsourcing hubs in contrast have attracted a large number of multinational companies to set up offices in its township vastly transforming its skyline in a span years.

Social Infrastructure

The sub-city has been planned for an environment of convenience which contains essential facilities and services at different levels namely health, education, safety and security, cultural, and communication etc. Drinking and potable water is a big problem, as Delhi Jal Board and DDA have created a mess of water distribution though the situation is still considered to be better than in other NCR towns like Gurgaon or Noida.

Landscape

• The Landscape concept of Dwarka evolves a system of open spaces which have the potential to develop into a landscape with distinctive visual qualities, fulfilling the required ecological and recreational functions.
• The location and alignment of existing landscape features have been used to structure the development.
• Advantage has been taken of topographic assets such as the natural drainage as well as major city level open spaces along these corridors, integrating existing landscape and new development.
• Essentially the proposed landscape comprises the following interlinked but hierarchical distinct components.
  • The informal naturalistic component along Najafgarh drain, serving a regional recreation function.
  • The more formal and organized component serving as a local space system on the East-west drainage corridors.
  • The open space system within the sectors and neighborhood.
• About 35% of Dwarka has been earmarked for green space development

Transport

• Metro based system will be the major mover of the people within core area.
• 10 Metro stations in the Dwarka sub-city. 2 stations are under construction and metro is running in 8 stations.
• Bus based public transport system will also be the primary mode of transportation of the people in Dwarka.
• Inter-state-bus terminal(I.S.B.T) has been planned near Sector 23.
• The basic road network has been planned both to supplement and compliment the metro based system.
• Cycle tracks and pedestrian pathways passing through green areas have been proposed.
• Major DTC Bus Routes operating in and out of Dwarka are 578, 764, 717, 721, 722, 724E, 752, 761, 778, 801, RL-75, RL-77, RL-79 etc. In addition to this there are other DTC Buses operating with lower frequencies.
• DTC Bus Route no. 764 - the most frequent bus service to Dwarka is for last few months under constant scrutiny due to the poor condition of 764 buses, overcrowding of the blue line buses, longer route through Palam Village and negligence by the government to start High Capacity Low Floor Green/ Red AC buses on the route.

Upcoming Projects

The upcoming projects in Dwarka include:

• Delhi's 5th and largest ISBT at Sector 23.
• 7 Sports Complexes have been planned in the sub city, of which 1 has been constructed by DDA and is fully functional.
• India's largest Exhibition and Convention Center to be built by DLF in Sector 24 by 2010.
• New Delhi's second diplomatic enclave after Chanakya Puri to come up are in Sectors 26 to 29. The diplomatic enclave will house embassies of at least 39 nations.
• Several 5 and 7 star hotels have also been planned across the sub city. Most likely to come up before the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

See also

• Dwarka Football Club

External links

• Dwarka at Delhi Development Authority website
• Website about Dwarka