Pilanji Gaon, the only “village” in the New Delhi assembly needs makeover
If a city needs to develop properly, then there should be a planned growth. Else over a period of time, everything goes haywire, and the urbanisation shows more scars than beauty spots. Such is the story of the Pilanji Gaon in Delhi.
Behind the bustling Dilli Haat at INA, and in the heart of the planned city centre of New Delhi assembly constituency, exists a very congested cluster of over 230 buildings. Residents say the village is about 600 years old and it lost its rural identity to land acquisition by the British in 1911. In 1911 when New Delhi was made the seat of governance, the disintegration of the larger village left this patch on the heart of New Delhi’s map.
Today it is a home to some 25,000 people and it is nothing but a scene of urban chaos. The “urbanized” village tag was granted to bring civic amenities, however in the last hundred years all these haphazard growth has only turned Pilanji into a mess of unplanned growth. There are overcrowded alleys that make it look like a slum.
The irony is that for 15 years (1998-2013), then chief minister Sheila Dikshit was the area MLA. And she was the C.M of Delhi too. Pilanji is the only “village” in New Delhi assembly constituency. Unfortunately no one bothered to put this village in order and demolish the encroached dwellings. We hope that in future the Delhi government thinks about converting it into a model urbanized village.
Source- The Times of India
