International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

EXPANSION OF DELHI: POLICY IMPLICATIONS ON URBAN

VILLAGES
Ar. Avtar Singh
Associate Professor, University School of Architecture and Planning, GGSIP University, Delhi

ABSTRACT: In relentless growth of National Capital Region many villages have lost their agricultural land
to acquisition schemes of government. In a bid to retain the character of these villages, these areas were
exempted from city bye laws, resulting in uncontrolled haphazard growth. Study of urban villages in Greater
Noida and Gurgaon, indicates that inhabitants of urban villages were unable to find employment in the city
as they lacked required skills. Due to high rents in developed areas of surrounding city villagers resort to
providing cheap rental areas for migrant workers. Open spaces, village common land, ponds and streets were
encroached leading to unhealthy living conditions.

Key words: Urban village, haphazard growth, rental accommodation

I. INTRODUCTION Haryana Amendment Bill 2014] has termed the

Phenomenon of urbanization in India has been taking
place at an accelerating rate after independence. Mega
cities like Delhi have continued to grow unabated
mainly due to urban-rural migration. The growth of
Delhi has crossed its borders into adjoining states.
Development in surrounding towns like Noida,
Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad has continued the
trend of Delhi.
In this persistent growth, many villages have lost their
agricultural land to acquisition schemes of government
for urban development. As a policy to retain the
character of these villages, imposition of urban bye
laws for new construction was refrained in Lal Dora
area, resulting in uncontrolled haphazard growth.
To accommodate the relentless urban growth in the
National Capital of Region (NCR) beyond Delhi’s
borders, towns of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have also
followed the trends of growth in Delhi. The growth of
existing towns of Gurugram in Haryana and new
planned towns of Noida and Greater Noida has
engulfed the villages.
This study explores the causes and consequences of
unguided development of urban villages in adjoining
areas of Delhi. The study maps activities and changes in
the villages of Nawada in Greater Noida and
Sikanderpur in Gurgaon due to urbanization of
surrounding areas.
II. POLICY OF NO-CONTROL AND APATHY
TOWARDS GROWTH IN URBAN VILLAGES
• Haryana state vide [Haryana Govt. Gaz. (extra)
2014 The Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control
area between Lal Dora (red thread) and Phirni
(village peripheral path) as village lands. This
allows for extension of village Abadi (habitation)
area. The area surrounded by Phirni (peripheral
road) and village habitation is collectively called
Abadi Deh.
• A study conducted by Certes Reality Ltd. ‘Delhi
Master Plan, Lal Dora-Opportunity’ it states “The
Lal Dora also denotes that the jurisdiction of
municipal authorities or urban development rules is
not applicable, in toto” (1). This is also relevant for
most of the areas of NCR.
• Land and rental value within the boundary of
Abadi Deh is usually lower than the surrounding
developed urban areas as they lack in the requisite
infrastructure and facilities.
• Lack of suitable checks for encroachments of
buildings onto streets. Construction of rental
accommodation becomes a driving force for
physical changes that take place in the village.
• Lack of adequate affordable service personnel
housing in planned areas, compel migrant artisans,
construction workers, factory workers and support
staff of offices to seek rental accommodation in
these villages.
• Lack of mandatory planning for disaster mitigation
scenario in villages, allow roads and streets
becoming inaccessible for any emergency situation
like fire, earthquakes etc.
• With no administrative controls for construction,
builders and owners sacrifice the technical safety
measures in design and execution of buildings
safety norms leading to accidents and building
collapse incidents.

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

• “These settlements have higher degree of tenure
security but fewer amenities.”(2). “Tenure security
refers to the rights of individuals and groups of
people to effective protection by their government
against forcible evictions” (3).
The village has an area of 16.71 acres (0.0676 sq. km).
It has 76% of residential land use, 5% commercial, 9%
for circulation and 8% as vacant land. Residential area
forms the major chunk of the settlement. At present
rental accommodation is limited, but some buildings are

Besides above, some other factors those promote

growth of urban villages

• Migrant workers are usually from rural areas of the

country and they find the village life in these
settlements more suitable than the urban life style
in surrounding areas.
• Prominent roads of the settlements facing or
connected to urban areas attract commercial
activities.
• Due to limited availability of commercial area and
high real estate value in planned areas, these urban
villages provide option of cheaper premises.
Subsequently, internal roads become popular
market hubs attracting further commercial activity
creating congestion and parking problems.
III. FRAMEWORK OF STUDY:
The studies were conducted by the author to understand
the ground realities of urban villages in surrounding
towns of Delhi. The study was divided into subheads of
activities based on the land use and built use of
settlements, change in typology of buildings and
construction techniques in new structures due to
urbanization. The consequences of encroachments and Fig 1. Land and Built Use
increasing ground coverage on circulation and open
space were mapped. The impact of providing urban being constructed exclusively for rent. Most of the new
infrastructure on the sustainability of settlements was constructions are adding shops for future, as they are
probed. The study also considered the aftermath of vacant as of now.
urbanization on demographic and socio-economic
B. Commercial Activity Pattern:
change in the villages.
Majority of villagers are farmers and involved in animal
IV. CASE STUDY: NAWADA, GREATER NOIDA husbandry. With the loss of agricultural land, people
U.P. are in transition stage of finding employment in
Greater Noida was created under UP industrial area act the urban set-up. During the study it was found that
1976. It is a part of National Capital Region (NCR) of shops are facing major roads and godowns of building
India. It is located 30 kilometers away from Delhi and
is connected by Noida Greater Noida Expressway.
Greater Noida Notified Area is 38000 Ha comprising of
124 villages. (4) Nawada is a small village located in
Sector 20 of Greater Noida. It is surrounded by Sector
Alpha II on North West, Golf Course on South-West
and had vacant GNIDA land recreational on its North-
East and South East. The Village has two connecting
roads and a path to the main 60 m. wide roads. Due to
planned surrounding development of GNIDA, no
further expansion of village is possible.

Fig 2 Built Use commercial

A. Land Use:

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices
materials are placed towards interior areas. Most of the
new constructions are adding shops on side facing roads
and streets, keeping in mind the future demand of
commercial area. Shops on periphery near main road
are high in demand for building material market.
Whereas the shops in the interior are not in demand and
as a result quite a few shops are vacant inside the
settlement. Some of these shops are rented to the
construction workers and their families.
C. Residential Fabric-Building typology
The older houses were typical courtyard type with
rooms arranged around an open to sky courtyard, but
now due to rental option available the villagers are
converting their property partly or fully into typical
buildings with more rental accommodation, leaving
very minimum open space.
Fig 3. Shops are planned abutting the street in front
Fig 4. View of streets with shops in front residential
buildings
Fig 5. Changing Residential Buildings
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D. Circulation Network
Typical streets of the village are not designed for
vehicular traffic. Villagers are already buying four
wheelers such as tractors, small tempos and of course
ubiquitous cars. There is going to be a problem of
parking and maneuvering the vehicles such as school
buses etc. through its streets. There are two primary
approach roads that connect it with the main sector
service roads on the north-west side. Secondary roads
are 7.5 meters and a 9meters wide road on the south-
east side. Internal school road on the south-west side is
5 meter wide. Drain channels, man holes and electric
poles are added to the existing streets causing
obstructions for vehicles.
E. Open Spaces:
The village at present has open space all
around. GNIDA has planned recreational and sports
area around the village, this will create a buffer space.
Open spaces in village are a large pond, open
courtyards of houses, streets and vacant residential
plots. The emerging trend is to encroach upon open
space for increasing covered area.
F. Physical Infrastructure
GNIDA has provided electrical supply, water
supply, sewerage line, BSNL Telephone line. Rain
water disposal, is through open drains that flows into
village pond which is now polluted and has become
village dumping place.
Fig 6. Addition of Infrastructure in Village
Fig 7. . Addition of Infrastructure in Village
 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

V. CASE STUDY: URBAN VILLAGE

SIKANDERPUR, GURUGRAM, HARYANA (5)

Gurgaon (now Gurugram) - the ancestral village of

Guru Dronacharya, used to be a sleepy town on the
outskirts of New Delhi, but due to its proximity to
Delhi, the city started growing in 1990’s. High-rise
multistoried buildings and swanky malls are the
favorite landmarks of modern Millennium town of
Gurugram. It has seen a rapidly growing speculative
real estate thriving market since the late 1990s.
Sikanderpur is an urban village which was incorporated
in to the city as urban growth surrounded it. It is located
on an old route of Mehrauli-Gurugram Road.

A. Lal Dora and Growth of Sikanderpur:

Village land of habitation Lal Dora, over time has

extended area up to surrounding path of village Phirni. Fig.9 Built Use Map
Due to very few administrative controls, land use
restrictions and absence of property taxes, value of the C. Commercial Activity:
land is lower than surrounding urban land. Its location
on main MG road is favorable for small businessmen
and entrepreneurs. The village is bisected by MG road
and metro line, it is surrounded on two sides by major
roads and on DLF residential side the village is
separated by a boundary wall.

Fig.10 Commercial Use Map

Fig.8 Land Use
B. Land Use:
The village has been occupied by migrant laborers.
Encroachments are increasing with the influx of
population. In the process of expansion, the villagers
located on the fringes cannot be removed.
The developers get cheap labour and the vacant land of
the villagers is converted into a settlement for the
immigrants. Land use proportions are not that of a
typical village, it has changed as compared to Nawada
which is in its initial stage of urbanization.
Mehrauli-Gurugram Road and Red line of Delhi metro
pass through the village. It is now a favorite spot for
commercial development. As seen in the land use plan
maximum commercial activities take place along the
major roads. Internal roads have mostly mixed land use,
where as the core of the village is residential.
This land is also highly sought after by small
entrepreneurs who run the service market for
surrounding area to avoid paying taxes and high rents.

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

82%
0%
21% 20%

6%

11%

14%
3%
3%
18% 22%

Fig.11 Commercial Built Mass vs. total village area

General Stores Property Dealer
Grocery Electrical
Wood/Timber Cable TV/DJ
Medical Building Construction
Miscellaneous

Fig.12 Commercial activities Break up

Fig.13 Commercial activities

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

Fig.14 Commercial buildings with market and office buildings

Fig.15 Section through Village

Due to its large scale commercialization people from

neighboring areas visit it for cheap and durable
commodities. It has started to serve as a large scale
building material and hardware market for the city
whereas; internal roads and streets cater to the needs of
residents of village.

D. Residential Fabric:
Population density in residential units has increased,
while services provided are not augmented. Population
of the village is 50,000 (app.). Migrant population in
the village, living in rented houses, is 45,000
(app.).Original inhabitants living in self owned houses
are 3500(app.)
As one moves deeper into the settlement, the residential
density increases and streets get narrower.
Fig.16 Rental vs. self owned property
E. Increasing FAR:
Open areas are being built upon due to increasing
pressure on land. Courtyards in old houses have been
converted into rooms, to accommodate the ever
growing demand of space. Due to division of property
amongst the descendants, land holding per person has
reduced resulting in higher ground coverage. As the
courtyards are being built upon, light has become a
problem and the initially provided open areas are now
being covered therefore ventilation has become an issue

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

F. Building Typology

In order to cater to demand and earn maximum money

typology of buildings is changing.

Fig.20 Traditional vs. New construction

Fig.17 Traditional vs. New construction G. Open Spaces:

Village has open spaces as pond, area between (Lal

Dora) village boundary and (Phirni) peripheral path,
along the natural drain (nalah), in public buildings like
school, panchayat ghar, the village temple, Community
centre.

Fig.18 Traditional vs. New construction

Building typology has changed from courtyard type

houses to linear arrangement of rooms with a narrow
slit in the roof for light and ventilation. In old
construction, the buildings are constructed in stone 350-
400 mm thick masonry walls using lime mortar, with
wooden beams, for openings have arches, Brick Jaalis
are used for ventilation, and have (Kachcha) unpaved
courtyard. In new construction, the buildings are
constructed in brick masonry with cement mortar. The
roofs are constructed in steel girders with stone slabs or
RCC, windows for ventilation are in mild steel
windows. Open spaces and courtyards are paved.

Fig.21 Open Built Ratio

Though it may appear that there is sufficient open space

but most of this open space is inaccessible as these are
not maintained. Village pond is not used anymore and it
has turned into a dumping ground

Fig.19 Traditional vs. New construction

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

Fig.22 Open Spaces

Fig 23 Typical sections of circulation arteries

Fig 24. Typical sections of circulation arteries in the village, show the character of development along with

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 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices
H. Circulation Network:
A regional MG road along with metro line is passing
through the village. Major road connecting DLF
development is creating an intersection with MG road.
Internal rorads provide entrance to village from these
main roads, which further connects the tertiary roads of
settlements. Most of the roads can carry vehicles except
the streets.
VI. HOW VILLAGES ARE COPING?
The authorities have insulated the villages with
proposal of planned development around both the
villages, and seem to have forgotten about its problems.
In case of Nawada there is a strong tussle among
GNIDA and villagers about surrounding land. There is
no Govt. School, primary health care center, bank, post
office etc. for the villagers.
In case of Sikanderpur existence of M.G. Road and
introduction of Delhi metro line has physically divided
the village into two parts. Introduction of sewer lines,
power lines, water supply has created obstructions for
accessibility for the villagers. The impacts are discussed
below:
A. Socio-Cultural Impact:
The social structure of the village is changing, as people
of different socio-cultural backgrounds are settling in
the village. Migrants are not conversant with the social
mores and values of place that are embedded in the life
style of villagers. The local people being dominant
owners have the control in the affairs of the village; this
is shifting with the changing demographical profile and
has caused conflicting conditions at times. Safety was
never an issue as activities of outsiders would be
pointed out; but now the instances of thefts and petty
crime are reported due to anonymous outsiders. Village
of Nawada has a strong sense of a cohesive village life
whereas; Sikanderpur has become a society, dominated
by migrant population. It has lost the resilience of a
cohesive society to absorb impact of day to day
problems of life in a collective manner.
B. Economic Impact:
In Nawada, the settlement presently is mostly
residential and typical buildings are at the most two
storeys. Few houses have been built as large houses by
investing the money received from sale of agricultural
land. It is known that the farmers who have received
large sums of money are spending on luxury items like
cars, big houses etc.: urban impact of surrounding area.
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The money received as compensation for their land thus
is lost and these persons cannot find employment
according to their skills. This will lead to socio-
economic difficulties later on. Initially, villagers find it
easy to switch to occupations like property dealers,
material suppliers, PCO managers. It was found during
the study that most of the shops were run by people
from other areas. In Sikanderpur, villagers are not
comfortable to find suitable means of sustainable
livelihood and occupation. They have to add more
rentable areas as the growing families are dividing the
properties. Villagers cannot compete with the
commercial activities of other migrant businessmen, as
knowledge of commerce is scarce with them.
C. Physical Impact:
As the rental and land value in village is lower than the
surrounding area, the migration of construction workers
to the village is imminent in Nawada. In order to
accommodate more people in less area the room sizes
are reduced and the facilities like toilets, washing area
and open space are made common. Buildings are
changing with more coverage and open spaces are
reducing. This is increasing the density of the village
and this phenomenon is changing the typology of
traditional courtyard houses. This impact is clearly
visible in Sikanderpur which is congested and crowded
with high density low rise development. In Sikanderpur
the north and south sides are physically divided by MG
road and metro line and north side is now totally
transformed into a crowded hardware and furniture
market.
D. Impact on Sustainability:
The villages originally were surrounded by agricultural
land, which along with the settlement had an
ecologically and environmentally sustainable symbiotic
relationship. They were self-sufficient entity, with pure
water, air, flora and fauna. After losing the sustenance
providing land, the village is now dependent on the
urban area for survival. Nawada is proposed to be
surrounded by recreational building like, Clubs, Hotels,
Golf course, and District sports complex. These
facilities will have restricted entry; the villagers will not
be able to use these facilities. Whereas the village of
Sikanderpur is already choked with urbanization around
it and changes inside the village have eaten up space
that can sustain village activities, it is totally dependent
upon the surrounding settlement’s economy. The water
table of the village has fallen as many villagers are
selling water by drawing from the ground with tube-
wells. As such GNIDA has not left any open space for
the village and the settlement do not have any social
 International Conference on Urban Sustainability: Emerging Trends, Themes, Concepts and Practices

open congregation space it will severely lack in this surrounding areas rather than a crumbling settlement
facility crying for help.

VII. CONCLUSION: REFERENCES:

It is concluded from the case studies that due to relaxed [1] Delhi Master Plan 2021, Report by Certes Reality Ltd.
administrative rules and regulations, the development in Delhi Master Plan Lal Dora-Opportunity, www.delhi-master
villages take place in an uncontrolled manner. The fate plan.com
of every village seems to be destined in the similar [2} Ahmad, S (2011) The Context of uncontrolled urban
predictable manner. It shall be over crowded, highly settlements in Delhi,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235919040
commercialized, all prohibited land uses will thrive.
[3] United Nations Human Settlement Program, Enhancing
The villages are turning into place to live for support Urban Safety and Security: Global Report on Human
staff in offices, drivers, peons and industrial workers. Settlements 2007, abridged ed., 9,
Few of the impacts can be summed up as follows: http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/GRHS.2007.Abrid
ged.Vol.2.pdf.
• Encroachments and excessive coverage makes [4] http://www.greaternoida.com/history Retrieved 12, Nov
internal roads inaccessible, which can be a hazard 2017
in case of emergency of any disaster. [5] The drawings, sketches, diagrams, tables and photographs
• Due to lack of controls and greed of rental income used in case study of Sikanderpur, Gurugram, have been
along with ever increasing demand of cheaper compiled from a study conducted by author with students of
Sushant School of Art and Architecture Gurgaon Haryana.
premises, inhabitants try to cover every possible
square meter of available area compromising on
vital lighting and ventilation leading to over-
crowded unhealthy living conditions. Use of power
is increasing for lighting, cooling devices and
water supply. Play area for children, open spaces
for women and old people are vanishing.
• More floors are added on buildings even though
structurally these may not be viable, basements are
added causing structural damage to surrounding
structures. There have been cases of building
collapses causing damage to life and property.
• Due to absence of guided administrative policy and
controls the growth in these villages was laissez-
faire. This process can be seen as an example of
losing out the possibility of a healthy sensitively
guided growth of village as an organism to too
little control, leading to chaotic, unhealthy and
unsafe development.
It is observed that every village has its importance and
context. In the process of rampant urbanization, the
village and its inhabitants are firstly robbed off its
sustenance- the agricultural land. Once the land has
been taken away, village is left on its own, with a plea
that city developmental rules should not be applied to
the village. It is true that village is an organism which
had grown in its own ecological network, so it needs
sensitive handling. While, leaving it to the forces of
urbanization, it is unable to cope with the impact and
lure of money for its inhabitants. It is imperative that a
thorough study should be conducted while the urban
area is planned around it and development guidelines
should be drawn to integrate it with the surrounding
urban area. It can become a place of interest for the

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