New Delhi is the capital of India. It serves as the center of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is located within the metropolitan city of Delhi, and is one of the eleven districts of the Union Territory of Delhi. Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the capital of India till 1911 during the British rule on India. The British rulers felt that in order to run the country in a better way, it would be better if Delhi is made the capital instead of Calcutta because from here the governance would be more effective. After considering this, the British Maharaja George V gave orders to move the country's capital to Delhi.
The population of the metropolitan city of Delhi was 16.8 million in 2011. Delhi's population makes it the fifth most populous in the world, and the largest metropolitan city in India. In terms of area as well, Delhi is one of the largest metropolitan cities in the world. After Mumbai, it is the second richest city in the country, and Delhi's GDP is second only to cities in South, West and Central Asia. New Delhi is known for its wide streets, tree-lined avenues and many of the country's top institutions and landmarks.
The foundation of the city was laid by the Emperor of India, George V, on 15 December, during the Delhi Durbar of 1911, and designed by prominent British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker. New Delhi was inaugurated on 13 February 1931 by Lord Irwin, the Governor General of British India.
Although both the names Delhi and New Delhi are colloquially used to refer to the jurisdiction of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, they are two separate entities and New Delhi is a small part of the metropolitan city of Delhi.
Establishment
Calcutta (now Kolkata) was the capital of India during the British Raj until December 1911. Delhi served as the political and financial center of several empires in ancient India and the Delhi Sultanate, most notably during the rule of the Mughal Empire from 1694 to 1857. During the early 1900s, the British administration was proposed to shift the capital of the British Indian Empire from Calcutta on the east coast to Delhi. It would be easy. Land acquisition for the construction of the new city of Delhi was done under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894.
On 12 December 1911, the then Emperor of India, George V and his Queen Mary, during the Delhi Durbar, laying the foundation stone for the Viceroy's residence in Coronation Park, Kingsway Camp (now Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar) announced that the capital of the administration would be shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. On 15 December 1911, during their royal visit to Kingways Camp, George V and Queen Mary laid the foundation of New Delhi at the Delhi Durbar of 1911. The construction of large parts of New Delhi was planned by Edwin Lutyens, who in 1912 first Delhi and Herbert Baker, both prominent British architects of the 20th century. The contract for construction was awarded to Sobha Singh. The construction work was to start from the Tughlaqabad Fort in Tughlaqabad, but it was stopped because of the Delhi-Calcutta trunk line, which passed through the fort. In fact the construction work started after the First World War and was completed in 1931. The city, renamed "Lutyens' Delhi", was inaugurated on 10 February 1931 by the then Governor General of India, Lord Irwin. Edwin Lutyens built the central administrative areas of the city based on British imperialism.
Soon Lutyens started considering constructions at other locations. In fact, the Delhi Town Planning Committee, set up to plan the construction of Delhi, with George Swinton as chairman and John A. Brodie and Edwin Lutyens as members, submitted reports for both the north and the south. But, due to the high cost, the Viceroy rejected it. The central axis of New Delhi, which is to the east of India Gate, was to be a north-south axis, which was planned to connect Rashtrapati Bhavan at one end and Paharganj at the other end. During the early years of the project, many tourists believed that it was a gate connecting earth to heaven.
Eventually, due to space constraints and the presence of a large number of historical sites in the north, the committee selected the southern part. was chosen for the construction of what was then known as the Viceroy's House. The reason for this choice was that the hill was located directly opposite the Dinpanah Citadel, which was also believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the ancient region of Delhi. Subsequently, the foundation stone was moved from the Delhi Durbar of 1911–1912, where the Coronation Pillar stood and embedded in the walls of the forecourt of the Secretariat. Rajpath, also known as King's Way, stretches from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Secretariat Building, two of which are the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Ministries of the Government of India, and the Parliament House, both designed by Baker, are located on Sansad Marg and run parallel to Rajpath.
To the south, land up to Safdarjung's mausoleum was acquired to build what is today known as the area of Lutyens' Bungalow. A circular railway line, called the Imperial Delhi Railway, was built around the Council House (present-day Parliament House) to transport construction materials and workers for the next twenty years, before construction began on the rocky outcropping of Raisina Hill. to be done . The final problem was the Agra–Delhi railway line, which cut through the site earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (India Gate) and the Kingsway (Rajpath), which was a problem because at that time the Old Delhi Railway Station, Used to supply the transport of the whole city. The railway line was shifted along the Yamuna River, and it became operational in 1924. New Delhi railway station opened in 1926, with a single platform at Ajmeri Gate near Paharganj, and was completed in 1931 at the opening of the city.When the Viceroy's House (present-day Rashtrapati Bhavan), the Central Secretariat, The construction of the Parliament House and the All India War Memorial (India Gate) was nearing completion, the construction of a shopping district and a new plaza, Connaught Place, began in 1929, and was completed by 1933. Named after Prince Arthur (1850–1942), 1st Prince of Connaught, it was designed by the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department (PWD), Robert Tor Russell.
Within a few months in 1912, a temporary secretariat building was constructed in North Delhi, after India's capital was shifted to Delhi. Most of the government offices in the new capital were shifted here from the Old Secretariat in Old Delhi a decade before the new capital was inaugurated. Many employees were brought to the new capital from distant parts of India, including the Bengal Presidency and the Madras Presidency. Also, in the 1920s, houses were constructed for their residence in Gol Market. In the 1940s, bungalows for high-ranking government officials were constructed near the Lodhi Estate. Lodhi Colony, near Lodhi Garden, was the last residential area built by the British Raj.
After Independence
After India gained independence in 1947, New Delhi was granted limited autonomy and was administered by a Chief Commissioner appointed by the Government of India. In 1966, Delhi was converted into a Union Territory, and the Chief Commissioner was replaced by a Lieutenant Governor. The Union Territory of Delhi was formally renamed as the National Capital Territory of Delhi under the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1991. Made under the Central Government. Actual enforcement of the law came in 1993.
New Delhi's first major expansion outside Lutyens' Delhi took place in the 1950s, when the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) developed a large area of land, in the southwest part of Lutyens' Delhi, to create the diplomatic enclave of Chanakya Puri. and land was allotted around Shanti Path for embassies, high commissions and ambassadors' residence.
Geography
With a total area of 42.7 km (16.5 sq mi), New Delhi is a small part of the metropolitan city of Delhi. Since the city is located on the Indo-Gangetic plain, there is variation in elevation across the city. New Delhi and its surrounding areas were once part of the Aravalli hills, today only part of those hills remain, which is the Delhi Ridge, also known as the lungs of Delhi. New Delhi is situated on the floodplain of the Yamuna River. To the east of the river is the urban area of Shahdara. New Delhi lies in the seismic zone-IV, due to which, the region is prone to earthquakes.
seismology
Most of the earthquakes that occur in New Delhi are of mild intensity. The number of earthquakes increased between 2011 and 2015, of which the 2015 earthquake of magnitude 5.4 was the highest, with the epicenter in Nepal. Twelve earthquakes, including a 4.7-magnitude earthquake on 25 November 2007, a 4.2-magnitude earthquake on 7 September 2011, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake on 5 March 2012, and four on 12 November 2013 with magnitudes 2.5, 2.8, 3.1 and 3.3 Returns.
climate
The climate of New Delhi is on the border between a warm semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) and a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa). There is a high variation in both summer and winter temperatures and rainfall. The temperature in summer is 46 °C. (115 °F) to about 0 °C in winter. (32 °F). The climate here is quite different from cities in other humid subtropical climates. It has long and very hot summers with dust storms, relatively cold, dry and hazy, mild winters. Summer is from early April to October, with the monsoon season occurring in the middle of summer, winter starts from the month of November and January is the coldest. The annual average temperature here is about 25 °C. (77 °F), while monthly daily mean temperatures range from 14 to 34 °C. (57 to 93 °F). The highest temperature of New Delhi was 48.4 °C. (119.1 °F), recorded on 26 May 1998, while the lowest temperature ever recorded was −2.2 °C. (28.0 °F) was recorded on 11 January 1967, both temperatures at Indira Gandhi International Airport (formerly Palam Airport). The average annual rainfall is 714 millimeters (2,343 ft), with most of Occurs during the monsoon in the months of July and August.
air quality
In 2015, Mercer's annual quality of life survey of 230 cities ranked New Delhi 154th due to poor air quality and pollution. Of the 1600 cities, New Delhi was the most polluted city. In 2016, the United States Environmental Protection Agency listed New Delhi as the most polluted city on Earth.
In an effort to reduce air pollution in New Delhi during the winter, in an effort to reduce it, in December 2015 the Delhi government introduced a temporary alternate day travel for cars, using an odd and even-numbered license plate system. The plan was announced. In addition, trucks were allowed to enter Delhi only after 11 pm.The ban was planned to be implemented on a trial basis for an initial period of 15 days from 1 January 2016. Was. The ban was enforced between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and there were no traffic restrictions on Sundays. Public transport service was increased during the ban period.
On 16 December 2015, the Supreme Court of India mandated several restrictions on Delhi's transport system to prevent pollution. The court ordered a stay on registration of diesel cars and sport utility vehicles with engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above till March 31, 2016. The court also ordered all taxis in Delhi to use only compressed natural gas from March 1, 2016 onwards, in addition to banning transport vehicles over 10 years old from entering the capital.
