The best thing about brutalist, and Commie block construction is that it is so nice to tear down and level to the ground with nary a whisper of dissent. The land is fabulous and expensive re. prime locations all over India thanks to the ode to Commie inspired Socilistic concrete/rebar brutality.
Good for a fresh start. Delhi is doing it. Check:
East Kidwai Nagar, in the heart of Delhi
-Major redevelopment of an existing post-independence low rise government housing project, on a very prominent 35 hectare site to the south of central Delhi
(c)
http://www.chapmantaylor.com/images/uploads/A922_EKN_East_Kidwai_Nagar_New_Delhi_India_N5.jpg
Delhi's top government officials to get office and living space in NBCC's new 'smart sub-city'
By
Kumar Vikram
PUBLISHED: 00:09 BST, 28 August 2016 | UPDATED: 00:11 BST, 28 August 2016
Delhi’s babus will soon work and wake up in a high tech office-cum-residential space like Xanadu, with centralised command and control systems to keep track of their comfort.
Spread across 86 acres, the proposed smart sub-city is being built for government employees including top-level secretaries in union ministries.
It will have about 57 lakh square feet of residential space, and 14 lakh square feet of commercial space in Delhi’s East Kidwai Nagar colony.
A Mail Today team visited the project site, which is currently obscured from public view with a 12 meter high barricading.
NBCC is a Navratna enterprise under the ministry of urban development with a total budget of about Rs 5000 crore.
The sub-city includes an imposing shopping complex, multi-storey apartments, two school buildings, and splendid banquet halls. It is also equipped with a cavernous basement car park.
According to officials, this place - expected to be unveiled by the end of 2017 - will have some unique features that are currently unavailable anywhere else in the country.
“The city will have zero outside waste disposal. This means all the waste including water produced in the colony will be recycled and used in the complex itself, leading to zero pollution,” said Anoop Kumar Mittal, chairman-cum managing director, National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), which is redeveloping the colony into a smart sub-city.
NBCC is a Navratna enterprise under the ministry of urban development with a total budget of about Rs 5000 crore.
The sub-city accommodates imposing shopping complex, multi-storey apartments, two school buildings, and splendid banquet halls
“Besides, the city will have 70 per cent open area. Over 50 per cent of that area will be covered with lush greenery and plantation along with 45 rainwater harvesting pits which will turn the place into a pleasant pollution free zone,” said Mittal.
Explaining the computerized command center, a senior official of the project said: “Suppose, a lift has stopped working in any tower, a message will be flashed automatically to the command center. Similarly, if there is a fire anywhere, it will immediately be detected at the command center,” said the official.
“This means people will not have to bother for any basic services such as sewerage, lighting, power, water, fire and surveillance.”
The official added that the centralised command and control center for data collection will be backed by a software developed by IBM.
A tour of the project’s basement showed a parking lot constructed on three different levels.
“The big space will accommodate about 11,000 vehicles any time and will have separate exit and entry from the Ring road. Interestingly, there will not be any surface parking here which will make it a free zone for jogging and leisurely walking,” a senior official said.
The Mail Today team also went inside the banquet halls and school buildings which have already been constructed.
“The central part of the school buildings has been covered so that students could enjoy in any season or the space can be used for other purposes as well. These buildings have been constructed keeping in view the need for Divyang (handicapped),” said another official.
While more than half of the total construction work has been completed, officials said that the city will be ready by next year. This is years ahead of the official target of 2019.
Explaining the finance part of the big project, a senior official said that it is being built under a self-sustainable model with no financial burden on the exchequer.
The project cost will be met by selling the leases to offices and 10 per cent of the built-up residential space to government departments, ministries and PSUs.
Face lift awaits more colonies
When it comes to redevelopment of existing colonies, East Kidwai Nagar is just one among several projects in the Capital.
As recently as July, the cabinet had given a green signal to rebuild and replace the government colonies of Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Srinivaspuri and Mohammadpur, and replace the existing housing stock of 12,970 dwelling units with nearly double the residential units.
The total project cost is estimated at Rs 32,385 crore, and work is expected to be completed in the next five years.
The Cabinet has given the green signal to rebuild and replace several colonies, including Sarojini Nagar
“I hope it would be completed even before that,” said a senior official, while speaking about the projects.
At present there is shortage of government accommodation in the national capital, leading to a waiting list for eligible housing among government officials.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahom...-NBCC-s-new-smart-sub-city.html#ixzz4nCC9SP00
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