Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Space, Planning and Everyday Contestations in Delhi pp 181–197Cite as

Megaproject, Rules and Relationships with the Law: The Metro Rail in East Delhi

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 453 Accesses

Part of the book series: Exploring Urban Change in South Asia ((EUCS))

Abstract

Concrete pillars of the metro rail are a noticeable skyline feature for new comers in Delhi. Today 190 km of its huge network is operational and transports about 3 million passengers every day. This chapter deals with the financing instrument of the metro rail through land value capture: the metro rail leads to a spatial cohabitation of transport functions as well as real estate within Delhi. We will show that among state actors, the central state acting through special agencies dominates the landscape. Megaprojects as delineated geographic space are tools to assert control over urban land management. An analysis of a project in East Delhi reveals that the relations between powerful actors enable the mobilization at different scales of specific rules and relationships with the law as resources to define and control the megaproject. However, the social issue directly related to the impacts of the megaproject is delegated to elected politicians at lower scales of decision.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The spaces within the stations are leased for a period of 3–4 years to private players and the external spaces are largely granted to property developers for periods ranging from 20 to 50 years, and 90 years for residential projects.

  2. 2.

    B. Bon’s interview with DMRC.

  3. 3.

    For each construction phase of the network, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation granted a loan to the DMRC.

  4. 4.

    An upfront payment is made by the private concessionaire to the DMRC for a period of 90 ans.

  5. 5.

    B. Bon’s interview with DMRC, Delhi, 2013.

  6. 6.

    Between 1996 and 2003 property prices (sale and rent of property in the commercial as well as the residential sector) fell by 40–50 % as compared to prices in 1995 and 1996.

  7. 7.

    Architect residing and working in Delhi. Interview with B. Bon (Delhi, 20 May 2013).

  8. 8.

    According to DDA planners (interview with B. Bon 2012 and 2013).

  9. 9.

    The majority of jean manufacturing units are informal units and are located on the ground floor of dwellings.

  10. 10.

    The process of regularization, which confers a legal status to the colony, is expected to increase the value of plots and houses, provide access to bank loans for the residents, and should lead to the improvement of public infrastructure of the colony (Zimmer, 2012).

  11. 11.

    According to the MLA (B. Bon interview, August 2012).

  12. 12.

    According to the Temple Guru (B. Bon interview, August 2012).

  13. 13.

    Interviews conducted by B.Bon in residential areas adjacent to this megaproject (in 2011, 2012 and 2013).

  14. 14.

    Emma Tarlo (2000) uses the notion of “translation” while referring to the existence of several “intermediaries” at the level of residential colonies who act “professionally” to bridge the gap between urban society and political discourse.

  15. 15.

    The megaproject was built on agricultural land. Most residents who came from villages of the state of Uttar Pradesh were employed as agricultural workers on the land occupied today by the megaproject; and now live in huts or in small one room house in the immediate proximity or against the wall of the megaproject.

References

  • Baviskar, A. (2011). Spectacular events, city spaces and citizenship: The commonwealth games in delhi. In J. Shapiro Anjaria & C. McFarlane (Eds.), Urban navigations. Politics, space and the city in South Asia (pp. 138–165). New Delhi: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bon, B. (2014). Urban mass transit rail systems in India. In European association of development research and training institutes (EADI): Chance2sustain policy brief series.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bon, B. (2015). A new megaproject model and a new funding model. Travelling concepts and local adaptations around the Delhi metro. Habitat International, 45, 223–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdin, A., Lefeuvre, M. P., & Melé, P. (2006). Les règles du jeu urbain. Paris: Entre droit et confiance. Descartes & Cie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, J. (2006). L’espace normé ne fait pas l’espace du projet. In: Bourdin A (Ed.), Les Règles du jeu urbain, Descartes & Cie (pp. 55–91). Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupont, V. (2010). The Dream of Delhi as a global city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 35(3), 553–554.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genestier, P. (2001). Des projets en paroles et en images. La réthorique du projet face à la crise du vouloir-politique. Espaces et Sociétés, 2(105), 101–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gidwani, V., & Baviskar, A. (2011). Urban commons. Economic and Political Weekly Review of Urban Affairs, 50, 42–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (1989). From managerialism to entrepreneurialism: the transformation in urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler. Series B. Human Geography, 71(1), 3–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, L. (2013). The politics of economic restructuring in India. Economic governance and state spatial rescaling. London and New York: Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melé, P. (2009). Pour une géographie du droit en action. Géographies et cultures, 72, 25–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruet, J., & Tawa-Lama, S. (Eds.). (2009). Governing India’s metropolises. Delhi: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, A. (2005). Urban informality: Toward an epistemology of planning. Journal of the American Planning Association, 71(2), 147–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarlo, E. (2000). Welcome to history: A resettlement colony in the making. In V. Dupont, E. Tarlo, & E. Vidal (Eds.), Delhi: Urban spaces and human destinies. Delhi: Manohar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmer, A. (2012). Enumerating the semi-visible. Economic and Political Weekly, 47(30), 89.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEIAS/EHESS, 190-198 avenue de France, 75013, Paris, France

    Bérénice Bon

Authors
  1. Bérénice Bon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bérénice Bon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ALHOSN University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Surajit Chakravarty

  2. Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Rohit Negi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer India

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bérénice Bon (2016). Megaproject, Rules and Relationships with the Law: The Metro Rail in East Delhi. In: Chakravarty, S., Negi, R. (eds) Space, Planning and Everyday Contestations in Delhi. Exploring Urban Change in South Asia. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2154-8_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2154-8_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New Delhi

  • Print ISBN: 978-81-322-2153-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-81-322-2154-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation