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Delhi, known locally as Dilli and also the official name of National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) is the largest metropolis in the area and the second largest metropolitan population in India. Delhi is one of the fastest growing cities in India, has spread far beyond the "seven cities" created between the 13th and the 17th century. It has sprawled over the west bank of the Yamuna and now straddles the river. It is the eighth largest city in the world population with more than 12.25 million people in the territory and more than 15.9 million residents in the National Capital Region (which includes Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad). Delhi is the name that is often also used to include some urban areas, close to the NCT, and to refer to New Delhi, the capital of India, located within the NCT. The NCT is a Union territory of federal administration.
Improved connectivity has done wonders for Delhi in particular, and NCR in general. The fact is demonstrated by the introduction of Metro Rail in various parts of Delhi. By reducing travel time Farflung areas to the main part of the metropolis, thanks to the Metro Rail services, many of these areas have recovered its former glory. Places like the Raja Garden, Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar and Janak Puri had lost its luster as the journey time from central parts of Delhi, Connaught Place and Central Secretariat, these places had risen to more than one hour and average during peak hours due to heavy traffic. Now, through the subway you can travel the same distance in 40 minutes. And with the arrival of the subway station, the freight road transport has been reduced and the road traffic situation has improved further. This has rejuvenated the entire West-Central Delhi, Delhi, East-West and North-Central Delhi corridors. The potential of economic activity in these areas have improved substantially, as reflected in the price of hotels and other commercial sites, recently auctioned by the DDA. Some of the hotel plots in Dwarka and Rohini reached more than 3 Rs Lakh per square meter in the auction.
In the areas further away from the central zones have benefited from improved connectivity due to the Metro station. An example is Dwarka which has benefited most with the start of Metro Rail services. Until the announcement of the construction of underground railway line, there were almost no buyers for apartments. But with the announcement of the price of the metro project in the area has dramatically from around Rs 13 lakh for the three-story dormitory in 2003, to Rs 65 lakh at present. Rohini and Pitampura other areas that witnessed price hikes.
Likewise, better road connectivity of Noida, Indirapuram and Greater Noida also had a salutary effect on the price of housing, which is a reflection of increased economic activity in the area. The region attracted huge influx of IT and ITES offices, which fuels demand. High growth in IT and ITES has created a demand for office space to be fulfilled by the development of new areas. However, only those areas that have better connectivity are being developed. Even grown Gurgaon, but faced some setbacks due to poor connectivity. However, with the proposed Metro Rail connectivity and expansion of the Delhi-Jaipur highway, the price of real estate in the region has also rocketed. This huge increase in prices in the range of 200 to 400% in Delhi and NCR in the past four years, has made it almost impossible for a middle-class person with a household income of 30,000 rupees a month to buy a room with two home beds. You can well imagine the plight of the large population that earns 10,000 rupees to 15,000 rupees a month. Government prescription of building cheap houses for them has not helped. For each level assigned by the government, more than 100 applications are received. This is a windfall for those who are lucky enough to get an award. But this can not be called as a serious attempt to tackle the problem.
''The only way to solve the housing problem is to expand the city, providing enhanced connectivity at a reasonable price. This would bring a large portion of land for construction activity, the increased supply of residential and commercial space in Delhi which contribute to the containment of rising real estate prices. The development of new townships around Delhi is a good move to address the problem but is not adequate and much is required, like creating rail corridors to connect the far-flung areas with the main cities so that more such integrated townships can be developed.
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