Delhi through chaos
“If the world is body, Delhi is the soul.” (Ghalib)
The enthralling capital of India, Delhi, is a magnet to people across the globe. The city has a fair share of ancient ruins that displays a perfect blend with the avant-garde. The city not only has a rich historical and cultural heritage but is an important corporate centre at present. The grandeur of India Gate located in the Central Vista contrasting with tight crowded alleyways of Shahjahanabad (old Delhi), the ease of travel with Delhi metro and an eclectic populace urges the city to exist in cohesion. Besides, the city has been a shopper’s paradise since the times of Mughals and the “bazaars” have only grown since then. Despite being absolute mayhem, “The City of Dreams” is an overwhelming experience with a hint of magic.
The blog throws light on the city’s history along with post-independence and current day scenarios with a perspective of city level planning to identify issues and challenges for better growth in future.
Historical Narrative
The imperial city of Delhi has lured rulers for centuries. The city is built and destroyed only to emerge again several times. Mythology talks about the glory of Indraprastha (“City of the God Indra”) built by Pandavas over five thousand years ago. The Mughal emperor Shahjahan built Shahjahanabad (the present old Delhi) between 1638 and 1648 (Nath, 1993 ) when there was a shift in capital from Agra to Delhi. The text describes the history of Delhi and the shift to the current scenario with an emphasis on governance and environment, portrayed as both strengths and opportunities.
The city of Delhi has been an attraction to the rulers from many dynasties. A major reason for this is its central location which makes it safe from all direction. The present-day old Delhi is also known as Shahjahanabad and was built in 1556–1857 AD (Bhatia, 2014). Red Fort, Jama Masjid, a massive granite wall and Chandni Chowk (old Delhi) formed the major feature of this arrangement. The city formed the centre of the trade route from Kabul to Calcutta and further to China. It had a geographical advantage of a ridge near which the city of Mehrauli was established. The development further spread and Shahjahanabad was the last city out of the seven cities of Delhi.
Lutyens Delhi
The selection of the site was based on the favorability of its effective appearance that it had a line of rising ground. Hence, Raisana Hills was chosen for the location of viceroy’s palace. Moreover, the monuments of faded empires covered most of the southeastern part making it an ideal location and also on the east was river Yamuna.
Lutyens Delhi was designed on a gridiron pattern. On the suggestion of Lord Hardinge warning about dust storms, roundabouts formed an integral part of the city design. Thus, the city was planned much like a mixture of the New York, Rome, Paris and Washington’s planning. The city was in turn beautified with greens, water courses, flora and parks that were developed around monumental structures communing nature and history. Planned on such principles were Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Secretariat and the Parliament House which formed the central vista of Lutyens Delhi.
Rehabilitation Townships as a Drawback
One of the major immigration were witnessed by Delhi when nearly half a million populace pursued refuge in Delhi due to the partitioning of India and Pakistan (1947). The city was unprepared for such a hike in its urban population which approximately doubled in two months. Hence, to cater to this concern Nizamuddin, Malviya Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Patel Nagar and other areas were developed as rehabilitation townships on the outer edges of the central Delhi. Thus, a ‘national emergency’ was met with providing housing at subsidized prices with no future planning consideration for the city. As a result of which, the city of Delhi expanded haphazardly in all directions. As a reaction to this, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) came into being in 1955 with its objective to “promote and secure the development of Delhi according to plan” (Bhatia, 2014). The sole responsibility of preparing the master plan of Delhi is under DDA now.
Current day Delhi
Post-Independence rapid population growth has resulted in congestion in the city. This has further resulted in unsanitary conditions, especially in the slums. The city is in need of an imperative urban renewable with a focus on preserving the historic landmarks, heritage and environment of the city.
Governance
The governance of Delhi is in the hands of numerous public associations’ established at all three levels: central, state and local. At such a state, coordination, conflicts and competition are inevitable. For example, the Delhi metro and BRTS which have been developed as competing projects according to a report (Ahmad, 2013).
Apart from this, the voice of a common labour class is unheard. Decentralization is a response to such an issue. Though the Supreme Court has been open to such voices yet, such legalities require time and money which the disempowered people are not able to provide.
Environment
The most prominent and visible environmental issue is the Delhi air pollution. The city has the highest motorization rates in the country. Hence, the most carbon emission occurs in Delhi. In the recent news reports, the city is stated unfit for humans to stay as the air pollution is far beyond mitigation with a reduction in emissions. Water is the second most crucial resource after air and yet polluted in the city. Though a recent news report states the planning of sixteen sewage treatment plants to treat the river Yamuna (Joydeep Thakur, 2019). To its benefit, the city also has a large number of green spaces.
Conclusion
The growth of the city has been multinucleated. It is rich in both traditions and heritage as well as technology and contemporary advancements. Western zoning concepts are adopted for the formulation of master plans and the old city is not forgotten. Shahjahanabad, Lutyens Delhi and Post-Independence Delhi impart the present day imageability as glorified in movies like Delhi-6 and Rang de Basanti; the rich history and culture that incites “nostalgia of the withering past” in Twilight in Delhi (Ali) and Delhi by Khushwant Singh.
The aims of sustainability are needed to be translated into actions through planning and use of resources is to be legitimized. The control of combustion of fuels may result in prominent changes in the transport sector thus, affecting the environment positively. The climate changes pose another challenge which can only be dealt with the understanding between authorities and planning for co-benefitted cities. The sustainable growth if commune with physical development strategies will be easier to attain as the conflict between political organizations will continue to exist.
The city of 7 cities (Qila Rai Pithora, Mehrauli, Siri, Tughlakabad, Firozabad, Shergarh, Shahjahanabad; Source: (Government of NCT of Delhi, 2014)) dates back to the time of ‘Pandavas’ (Mahabharata) and was anciently known as ‘Indraprastha’. From Tomar dynasty in the 9th century to British rule, the city has been the capital at least seven times. Being a resident of the city by birth, it is fascinating to uncover that the city holds various treasures yet to be explored and experienced let alone the famous monuments, bazaars, cuisine, metro, religious and administrative buildings, festivals and culture.
Bibliography
Ahmad, S. (2013). Cities 31 .
Ali, A. (n.d.). Twilight in Delhi.
Bhatia, S. (2014). History & Town Planning of Delhi.
Mirza Ghalib.
Government of NCT of Delhi. (2014). Retrieved from delhi.gov.in
Joydeep Thakur, H. (2019). Delhi government planning 16 ‘natural STPs’ to treat sewage entering Yamuna.
Nath. (1993 ). Planning for Delhi . GeoJournal 29.2 171–180 .
