Dehli's History, Infrastructure and Political Structure

DELHI

Delhi,also known as the National Capital Territory of India is a metropolitan region in India. Due to urban expansion in India its growth has expanded beyond the NCT to incorporate towns in neighbouring states and it can count a population of nearly 27 million residents as of 2014. The NCT and its urban region have been given the special status of National Capital Region (NCR) under the Constitution of India‘s 69th amendment act of 1991. The NCR includes the neighbouring cities of Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Alwar, Bharatpurand other nearby towns.

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There are a number of legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi. One is that it is derived fromDhilluorDilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50BC and named it after himself. Another is that the name is derived fromDilli, a corruption ofdehleezordehali—both terms meaning ‘threshold’ or ‘gateway’—and symbolic of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain.

HISTORY

Delhi has been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BC.Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and empires. It has been captured, ransacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period.Delhi was the site of ancient Indraprastha(Khandavprastha), the ancient capital of the Pandavas during the Mahabharata. By 1200, native Hindu resistance had begun to crumble, the dominance of foreign Muslim dynasties in India was to last for the next three hundred years, and Delhi was ruled by a succession of Turkic and an Afghan, Lodhi dynasty. They built a number of forts and townships that are part of the seven cities of Delhi. In 1639, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built a new walled city named Shahjahanabad, In Delhi, which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1649 to 1847.Shahjahanabad today is Old Delhi. The greater part of Old Delhi is still confined within the space of Shah Jahān’s walls, and several gates built during his rule—the Kashmiri Gate, the Delhi Gate, the Turkman Gate, and the Ajmeri Gate—still stand. In 1911 the British determined to shift the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi.The key architect was Sir Edwin Lutyensand it was he who gave shape to the city.The British moved to the partially built New Delhi in 1912, and construction was completed in 1931. A new capital city, New Delhi, was built to the south of the old city during the 1920s.When the British left India in 1947, New Delhi became its national capital and seat of the union government..

ECOLOGY

Two prominent features of the geography of Delhi are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna river was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The Delhi ridge originates from the Aravalli Range in the south and encircles the west, north-east and north-west parts of the city. It reaches a height of 318m (1,043ft) and is a dominant feature of the region

Delhi features an atypical version of the humid subtropical climate. The warm season lasts from 9 April to 8 July with an average daily high temperature above 36°C. The hottest day of the year is 22 May, with an average high of 38°C and low of 25°C.^[59]The cold season lasts from 11 December to 11 February with an average daily high temperature below 18°C. The coldest day of the year is 4 January, with an average low of 2°C.Temperatures in Delhi usually range from 5 to 40°C.The average date of the advent of monsoon winds in Delhi is 29 June.

Delhi is the most polluted^[66]city in the world and according to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people in Delhi every year.The dense smog in Delhi during winter season results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year.Since the mid-1990s, Delhi has undertaken some measures to curb air pollution – Delhi has the third highest quantity of trees among Indian cities^[78]and the Delhi Transport Corporation operates the world’s largest fleet of environmentally-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

Infrastructure

Delhi has seen major infrastructural changes over the past few years amidst increased foreign investment and economic growth. Delhi’s infrastructure is attracting MNCs and corporate bodies from all over the world. Information technology, BPOs and other IT Services are among the growing industries in Delhi. Recent developments and economical growth in Delhi have put the city on the global map competing with other top cities in the world. Delhi has a much improved infrastructure with new roads, flyovers, bridges, healthcare facilities, sanitation, etc. Education in Delhi has always been the specialty of Delhi with so many good schools and colleges to choose from. Other major initiatives of the government include telecom, housing, power facilities, and transportation.

Sighting the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010, Delhi is geared up for transforming itself to a world class city.

Transport System In Delhi:

Delhi Transport Corporation or the DTC is the main transportation medium in Delhi. DTC is the world’s largest compressed natural gas bus service. The service has come a long way since its inception in the year 1984. Now all buses have been converted into CNG in order to control the pollution level of the city. Apart from the bus service of the DTC, there are private Blue Line services which are under the private hands.

International Airport of Delhi popularly known as Indira Gandhi International Airport is located 24 kilometers south of New Delhi. It is a two-terminal airport with major Airlines from across the world having flights to and from Indira Gandhi International Airport. Out of the two terminals, one is the Domestic Terminal some 3 kilometers away from the International Terminal. Metro rail service in Delhi has come as a much awaited gift for the people of Delhi which has indeed changed the transport facility of the city. It has become the “life line” of Delhi as people are dependent on Delhi Metro for commuting to different places within the city. Delhi Metro Project has been recognized all over the world for its specialty in terms of a hi-tech rail and better equipped transport system. Other than these, taxis and autos are always in demand for shorter distances

Housing structure

In Delhi 96.98% families live in pucca, 2.01% in semi-pucca, and 1.01% in kutcha type of housing structure. 60.77% stay in independent, 19.02% in flat type dwellings. In 2010 Total number of slums were estimated as 1867 and the households therein were estimated as 3.79 lakhs.

Crime rate

Call it the inefficiency of the Delhi Police or the impact of “liberal registration” of cases, but the Capital recorded two to four times more criminal incidents till March this year as compared to the corresponding period in last year.

Delhi has reported the highest rate of violent crimes in the country. The city reported 29 heinous crimes cases daily in 2013.According to NCRB statistics, the Capital’s daily data of violent crime included 17 incidents of abduction, three robberies and rapes each and a case of murder and attempt to murder between January 1 and December 31, 2013.

Governance

The Government of Delhi is the supreme governing authority of the Indian national capital territory of Delhi and its 9 districts.

The Delhi High Court has jurisdiction over Delhi, which also has two lower courts: the Small Causes Court for civil cases, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases. The Delhi Police, headed by the Police Commissioner, is one of the largest metropolitan police forces in the world.^[1] The Parliament of India, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), Cabinet Secretariat and the Supreme Court of India are located in the municipal district of New Delhi.There is no Cabinet of Ministers in Government of Delhi, as Delhi is under President’s Rule.