DDA spruces up Narela sub-city, waits for Metro to enter

Dwarka and Rohini, the two sub-cities developed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), are sought-after addresses today. But its third sub-city, Narela, remains a ghost town that offers 8,000 flats but boasts of very few residents. Sidhartha Roy reports.

Dwarka and Rohini, the two sub-cities developed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), are sought-after addresses today. But its third sub-city, Narela, remains a ghost town that offers 8,000 flats but boasts of very few residents.

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The DDA now hopes that the extension of the Dilshad Garden-Rithala line of the Delhi Metro till Narela from Bawana, which is planned in Metro's phase IV, will provide the much-needed connectivity to this township, and attract people to move there.

Narela sub city is about 42 kms from Connaught Place.

Sources in DDA said that a meeting was recently held between DDA and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the completion of the detailed project report (DPR) of that section.

"The DPR for metro's extension to Narela is already being prepared. The extension from Bawana to Narela is proposed in phase IV," said Mangu Singh, DMRC's managing director.

DDA is also carrying out major development work in the Narela township to make it liveable. It is developing a green area spread over 450 hectares, apart from supply of drinking water to Sectors B-4 and A-10, providing and laying water pipelines in pockets 2,4 and 6 of Sector A-10, improvement of service lanes and drains in pocket 13 and desilting of lanes and internal sewer lines in other sectors.

Narela has almost no connectivity but that didn't deter DDA from building rows after rows of flats and allotting them in successive housing schemes. Though it's a perfectly planned sub-city with wide roads, neatly built and affordable flats, abundant water and power, huge parks, markets, banquet halls etc., it remains a ghost town.

All this, however, is expected to change as soon as Metro enters the sub-city.