The incentive is powerful: the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As a sports event, the Commonwealth Games rank just below the Olympics. The budget for Delhi 2010-a mind-boggling Rs 80,000 crore is by far the single biggest injection of funds for the city. Many projects-like the showpiece Metro, among others-are already up and running, or are part of the Delhi 2010 Development Plan. The Games offer a convenient incentive to launch a massive regeneration plan that could, if all goes well, establish the benchmark for urban planning in India.

Yet, it will be a Herculean task in terms of mustering political will, co-ordinating between several agencies and overcoming bureaucratic hurdles that have turned an elegant, historic city into one of the most crowded and polluted in the world. Delhi's record is already dismal: the Yamuna that runs through the city stinks; one out of every three residents lives in slums; public transport is in a shambles and monsoons spell choked drains and pot-holed roads. Delhi is also notorious for its VIP movement and multiple modes of transport that create havoc on roads. Finding parking space for vehicles is a nightmare. Summers are synonymous with lengthy power cuts and dry taps. Commercialisation of residential areas, that led to a huge demolition-cum-sealing drive (see box), has symbolised the difference between promises and reality

RED FLAGS

AD HOC PLANNING: There are several bodies and layers of bureaucracy; so no single body oversees Delhi's planning and development POWER PAINS: As Delhi is the political hub, populist decisions are more likely in issues such as slum rehabilitation and tariff hikes. POPULATION PRESSURE: Delhi's population grows by about four lakh annually, mostly due to migration. Plans can go awry. CRASS COMMERCIALISATION: Town planners and experts worry that rampant construction may eventually destroy the historic city.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is optimistic. "By 2010, we will turn Delhi into a dream city which is beautiful, clean, green and world-class," she says. Till now, growth has been mostly accidental. The classy Delhi Metro, a mass rapid transit system, had been in the making for almost five decades and underwent 35 studies before finally taking off in 1998. Whether it is the agonisingly slow Sonia Vihar water project or the privatisation of the Delhi Jal Board, slum rehabilitation, or regularisation of unauthorised colonies, these are tough decisions with huge financial, political and social stakes involved. "Had we been a full-fledged state, things would have moved faster," admits Dikshit.

A Dose of Bulldozers The clean-up of concrete mess has been halted by politics and corruption

Besides its soaring flyovers, widened roads and rising skyscrapers, another step Delhi has taken to beautify itself is the now-stalled drive to clean up the concrete jungle that has for decades defaced its residential and commercial areas in complete violation of the city's by-laws. Over 80 per cent of the 3.2 million buildings in Delhi have flouted some law or the other, according to submissions made by the MCD to the courts. Thanks to landmark Supreme Court and Delhi High Court judgements on some PILs, the MCD began clearing Delhi's mess a few months ago. Unauthorised constructions were knocked down and commercial offices and shops being run in residential premises began to be sealed. Since March 30, 2006, the MCD had sealed over 11,000 properties that flouted land-use rules. These buildings are located on 185 pre-identified (over 80-feet-wide) roads. The MCD had also bulldozed 2,150 unauthorised constructions since December 19, 2005 on directions from the Delhi High Court. More than 18,000 more such buildings were to be pulled down. High-profile fashion designers were forced to move their illegally built boutiques out of the fashion street of the city, MG Road. Premises owned by politicians and MLAs were found to have been erected in gross violation of land-use laws. But the trader community, which constitutes a large chunk of the city's vote bank, has been especially vocal in its protest. As a result, the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill 2006 was passed in Parliament, imposing a one-year moratorium on all action except removal of encroachment on government land and illegal structures under construction. So, even sealed commercial properties were de-sealed, while the bulldozers were stopped altogether. Two factors frustrated the clean-up drive-the municipal elections, due in January 2007, which the Congress party cannot afford to lose, and rampant corruption within the MCD. For the Congress, it was a choice between being slack with the courts' orders and antagonising its electorate. At the same time, with the bulk of the illegal constructions taking place with the full knowledge of its engineers, the MCD suspended several of its employees and is investigating allegations against many others. Now, the Tejendra Khanna panel's recommendations on relaxing construction and land-use norms with retrospective effect, classifying the city's colonies into tiers are supposed to be incorporated in the Master Plan for Delhi-2021. So much for planned growth.

Even so, there is cause for cautious sanguinity. In terms of development, Delhi is moving faster than any other Indian city. For sceptics, the biggest proof is the rapid rollout of the capital-intensive Metro Rail, which has already earned justifiable praise for outstanding efficiency and service. Also, the pilots of major projects-multi-storey parking complexes, high-capacity bus system, garbage privatisation, expressways-are already underway. That is why there is reason for optimism. Says Stephen Davies, former managing director, Bata, which relocated its headquarters to Gurgaon after 70 years in Kolkata: "Delhi seems to be the only city which is planning big and thinking long-term."

Fortunately for Delhi, a convergence of factors may help overcome traditional hurdles this time. The world over, cities like Atlanta, Barcelona and Seoul have used sports events like the Olympics to transform themselves. Beijing is investing a staggering $35 billion in infrastructure in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics. The Asian Games in 1982, though much smaller in scale with a Rs 500-crore budget, had changed Delhi with new sports complexes, residential areas like the Asian Games Village, culture and entertainment hubs such as the Siri Fort complex and much-needed flyovers. With Congress governments at the Centre and locally, the mood in the capital's power corridors is co-operative rather than confrontational.

"The Partition and the Asian Games were two defining events for Delhi. The Commonwealth Games will be the third," says Amin Ullah Khan, fellow, India Development Foundation, which focuses on urban development issues. He feels that the Games will work as an anchor around which mega-plans in Delhi can be pushed in a time-bound manner. Perhaps the biggest and most ambitious is the complete overhaul of the public transport system within and around the city, with an estimated investment of over Rs 30,000 crore by 2010. The capital already has the world's largest CNG fleet with 80,000 vehicles, including 10,000 buses for public transport. Monorails, a high-capacity bus system and environment-friendly electric trolleys will provide the city with an alternative mode of clean, comfortable transportation. With more than 40 flyovers, better roads and well-designed pedestrian walkways in the pipeline, commuting on Delhi roads will be much easier. Moreover, the current parking chaos will be sorted out if plans by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to build computerised multi-storey parking complexes materialise. In Nehru Place, work on a pilot project has already begun.

DELHI DREAMS

"By 2010, we will turn Delhi into a dream city-clean, beautiful, green and world-class." SHEILA DIKSHIT CHIEF MINISTER, DELHI We should make our best efforts to help Delhi stand out as the host city." B.L. JOSHI LT-GOVERNOR, DELHI "With 5 million commuters a day, the Metro will change the way Delhiites travel." R. SREEDHARAN MANAGING DIRECTOR, DMRC "Ad hoc planning and thoughtless construction are destroying a historic city." PATWANT SINGH WRITER "As suburbs flourish and infrastructure improves, the character of the city will also change." ARUN BHARAT RAM CHAIRMAN AND MD, SRF LTD

Dirty public convenience facilities are also getting a makeover as their maintenance is being handed over to private companies, which also get the advertising rights. Private agencies will also maintain subways, roads and parking facilities. The dull DTC buses are already donning vibrant colours. Outdoor advertising with neon lights will be used to give the city's façade an international and contemporary look, particularly in corporate complexes like Bhikaji Cama Place and Nehru Place. Already, in areas like Khan Market and Janpath, attractive, uniform signeage for shops has been introduced. The NDMC also plans a major facelift of the municipal areas, including the central vista in Connaught Place. "We hope to make the NDMC area world-class and turn it into a major tourist destination," says Sindhushree Khullar, NDMC Chairman.

The Commonwealth Games will also give sports infrastructure a new lease of life. The Delhi Development Authority is planning to build five new sports complexes, two mini-sports arenas and six multi-gyms, along with the upgradation of six existing stadia. The Games Village being set up on the banks of the Yamuna will lead to beautification of the entire area, including the filthy river itself. Lakes and water bodies meant for aquatic sports will add to the new green look the area is slated to get.

The National Capital Region (NCR) is riding piggyback on Delhi in this drive. The eight-lane Delhi-Gurgaon expressway will be completed soon, while a Rs 3,600-crore peripheral expressway on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border and Delhi-Haryana border will reduce the heavy traffic that passes through the capital. Noida and Gurgaon will both be connected by the Metro with a do-it-yourself funding model.

The Delhi government is also betting big on technology to improve efficiency. GPS and GIS will help in tracking buses while the extensive use of smart cards will make life easier for residents. It helps that Delhi's ambitious plans are on sound footing. Fiscally, the state is among the few in India with a healthy balance sheet. Its net revenue in 2004-05 was Rs 5,700 crore. Being the capital, it will also get generous funding from the Centre. The MCD is being restructured for better governance. Amid much protest, water tariffs have been rationalised. Water loss in transportation will be brought down from around 40 to 10 per cent in the next three years. Parking rates in select areas have been raised. Says Dikshit: "Some of them are tough decisions politically. But involving people through bhagidari will help." The buzzword in the government is public-private partnership. While power distribution has been fully privatised, other services will soon follow suit. Corporate sponsorships and advertisement rights are being explored to raise revenues for the maintenance of roads, parks, community centres and parking complexes. Almost 35 per cent of the investment is likely to come from the private sector. "The Government's role will increase as a regulator and shrink as a service provider," says R.K. Verma, former chairman, NCR Planning Board.

But concerns remain. "The biggest challenge for Delhi is how it responds to people's growing aspirations," says Mehta. For a city that swells by more than four lakh people every year, with over 70 per cent of the increase by way of migration, population growth can throw all calculations awry. The city's population is expected to go up from 14 to 17 million by 2010.

Despite the naysayers, there has been a subtle, yet significant, change in Delhi's character. The city is throwing away its political tantrums and bureaucratic whims and learning to be tech-savvy. "A certain amount of professionalism has come in. And there is a dilution of the babu culture," says Raman Roy, a BPO industry veteran. The dialogue between the industry and the government is robust, he says.

Just how robust it is will be known in a few years. But there is already a discernable buzz around Delhi that reflects its aggressive, go-getting Punjabi culture. The swank malls, the plethora of restaurants, the spending power of its citizens that is attracting global luxury brands and manufacturers alike, are all indications that the capital may finally be ready to take on its biggest challenge-to transform itself into a top-notch city. Delhi 2010 may yet be a dream, but with the new plans, Delhi's past glory may finally be matched by its future.

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