New Delhi, Jun 12 (IANS): The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has proposed to build 64 high-end villas and bungalows for railway officers in the national capital along with an exclusive commercial hub, officials said on Friday.
According to the RLDA officials, the new railway colony is all set to be redeveloped at Boulevard Road, adjacent to Tis Hazari Metro Station in north Delhi. The RLDA officials said that the railway colony will be developed as a residential project on a 5.38-hectare plot.
Speaking about the project, Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice Chairman of the RLDA said, "The railway colony holds great potential for residential development. The proposed upscale residential development is envisioned as a self-sufficient neighbourhood endowed with state-of-the-art amenities."
Dudeja said, the strategic location and excellent connectivity to Tis Hazari metro station, ISBT Kashmere Gate, North Campus and Vidhan Sabha will make it a preferred destination for homeowners. Another RLDA official said that the location in the bungalow zone will foster elite development with high-end villas, bungalows, and plotted residential development.
"Exclusive commercial development is also proposed on the site facing the busy Lala Hardev Sahai Marg," he said. He further said that the colony enjoys proximity to Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines, a premium neighborhood in north Delhi, outlined under Zone-C in Delhi's Master Plan 2021. The existing railway colony was established as civilian quarters during British rule, and the locality boasts prominent institutions such as Delhi University, Delhi Legislative Assembly, Tis Hazari courts, among others, he said.
As per Delhi Master Plan 2021, the project falls in the Civil Lines Bungalow Zone and is governed by Development Control Regulations (DCR) and Zonal Development Plan for Zone C (Civil Lines). Further, overarching regulations as laid out under Delhi Master Plan 2021 and Unified Building byelaws would also apply to the site, the RLDA official said.
The entire land parcel will be available for high-end residential development immediately after the relocation of the existing railway quarters to other locations within Delhi, he said. Located in the heart of Delhi, the site enjoys excellent connectivity to all major commercial, educational and institutional hubs in the NCR via road and metro.
The official further said that the redevelopment is planned around the concept of 'Biophilic urbanism', which is emerging as an important design principle for cities, featuring a suite of natural design features that address multiple pressures related to climate change, increasing urban populations, finite resources, and our inherent need for contact with nature.
The RLDA, which is a statutory body under the Railway Ministry looks after the development of vacant railway land for commercial use in line with the objective to generate revenue by non-tariff measures. The Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India.