Lutyens' Delhi
{{short description|Area in New Delhi, Delhi, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lutyens' Delhi
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Neighborhood
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Delhi
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Delhi, India
| pushpin_label_position = New Delhi
| coordinates = {{Coord|28|38|8.74|N|77|13|28.02|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = India
| subdivision_type1 = Union Territory
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name1 = Delhi
| subdivision_name2 = New Delhi
| established_title =
| established_title1 = {{Start date and age|1926|df=y}}
| established_title2 =
| named_for = Sir Edwin Lutyens
}}
File:Rashtrapati Bhavan (Dehli).jpg with the Jaipur Column in the foreground, in Lutyens' Delhi]]
Lutyens' Delhi is an area in New Delhi, India, named after the British architect Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), who was entrusted with the vast majority of the architectural design and buildings of the city that subsequently emerged as New Delhi during the period of the British Raj. Lutyens' Delhi progressively developed over the period from 1912 to 1931. This also includes the Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ).
Lutyens designed four bungalows in the Viceroy House Estate (now known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate); today, these bungalows lie on the Mother Teresa Crescent (then Willingdon Crescent). Lutyens, apart from designing the Viceroy's House, spearheaded the design and oversaw construction of large government buildings and was involved in town planning too.{{cite news |title=Lutyens himself designed only four bungalows|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/lutyens-himself-designed-only-four-bungalows/story-yaCQuRpqfMOXLhjUPiSouM.html | newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=1 September 2011|access-date=19 November 2015}}
Herbert Baker, who also designed with the Secretariat Buildings, designed bungalows on the then King George's Avenue (south of the Secretariats) for high-ranking officials of the British Empire. Other members of the team of architects were Robert Tor Russell, who built Connaught Place, the Eastern and Western Courts on Janpath, Teen Murti House (formerly called Flagstaff House), Safdarjung Airport (formerly Willingdon Airfield), Irwin Amphitheatre (renamed Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium) and several government houses,{{cite web | title = Lutyens' Delhi |author= Aman Nath| url = http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Lutyens-Delhi/235665|work=Outlook|date=1 October 2007| access-date = 16 December 2014 }} William Henry Nicholls, CG Blomfield, FB Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith and Henry Medd.{{cite news|title=A 'garden' in the centre of New Delhi|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/A-garden-in-the-centre-of-New-Delhi/Article1-707694.aspx|publisher=Hindustan Times|date=9 June 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022220905/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/A-garden-in-the-centre-of-New-Delhi/Article1-707694.aspx|archive-date=22 October 2012}}
It was included in the 2002 World Monuments Watch list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, curated by the World Monuments Fund, a heritage organization headquartered in New York.{{cite web |title=LUTYENS BUNGALOW ZONE |url=http://www.wmf.org/project/lutyens-bungalow-zone |year=2002 |publisher=World Monuments Fund }}
History
The area was constructed following the decision of the imperial British administration to relocate the capital of the Indian Empire from Calcutta to Delhi, thereby heralding the conception of a new district of the latter entitled New Delhi.
Before the new imperial capital was established in 1911, the Delhi Junction Railway Station served the Agra-Delhi railways: the line cut through what is today called Lutyens' Delhi. The line was eventually shifted to make way for the new capital and the New Delhi Railway Station was constructed near the Mughal-era Ajmeri Gate in 1926.{{cite news |title=A fine balance of luxury and care|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/a-fine-balance-of-luxury-and-care/story-m0a2nT6i8WwSAaaAETwNMK.html | newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=21 July 2011 | access-date=19 November 2015}}
Design and construction
File:Delhi India Government.jpg
Lutyens led a group of architects in chiseling the central administrative area of the city, with the mandate of retaining one-third of the area as green space.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} At the heart of the city was the imposing Viceroy's House (which now serves as the Indian President's primary residence and is referred to as the Rashtrapati Bhawan), the seat of the Governor General of India, located atop the Raisina Hill. The Kingsway (now known as the Rajpath) boulevard connects India Gate (formerly known as All India War Memorial) to Rashtrapati Bhawan, while Janpath (formerly Queensway), which intersects it orthogonally, connects South End Road (renamed to Rajesh Pilot Marg) with Connaught Place.
The Secretariat Building, which houses various ministries of the Government of India, including the Prime Minister's Office, straddles the Rashtrapati Bhawan and was designed by Herbert Baker. Also designed by Baker was the Parliament House (previously known as the Council House), which is located on Sansad Marg, and runs parallel to the Rajpath. Two magnificent cathedrals in the area, the Anglican Cathedral Church of the Redemption and Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral, were designed by Henry Medd.{{cite web|title=Church of Redemption - History|url=http://www.theredemptionchurch.org/history.htm|publisher=The Cathedral Church of The Redemption, New Delhi|access-date=28 March 2014}}{{cite web|title=Cathedral Church New Delhi - History|url=http://sacredheartcathedraldelhi.org/History.aspx|publisher=Sacred Heart Cathedral New Delhi|access-date=28 March 2014}}
Lutyens Bungalow Zone
The Lutyens Bungalow Zone covers an area spanning approximately 26 km2. All land and buildings in the LBZ belong to the Union Government, except for {{convert|254.5|acres}} that are privately-owned. It is an illustrious and opulent enclave in New Delhi. There are about 1000 bungalows in the LBZ, of which less than ten percent are in private hands.{{cite news|last1=Sharma|first1=Ravi Teja|title=Many big names of NDA eye Lutyens' Delhi as new home; new MPs scout around for accommodation|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Many-big-names-of-NDA-eye-Lutyens-Delhi-as-new-home-new-MPs-scout-around-for-accommodation/articleshow/36098760.cms|access-date=5 June 2014|agency=ET Bureau|publisher=Times of India|date=5 June 2014}}
In furtherance of establishing development control norms, the Ministry of Urban Development constituted the New Delhi Redevelopment Advisory Committee (NDRAC) in 1972 when the redevelopment of the areas around the walled city, north of Connaught Place and on Prithviraj Road, was taken up.{{cite journal|last1=Ganju|author2=MN Ashish|title=Lutyens Bungalow Zone|journal=Architecture + Design, an Indian Journal of Architecture |url=http://architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-21741|access-date=21 August 2014|date=November–December 1999|issue=6}}
=Land prices=
In 2013, it was reported that the market value of the {{convert|254.5|acres}} of land in private hands in the LBZ increased eightfold in the previous ten years, from around {{INRConvert|6100|c}} to {{INRConvert|49000|c}}.{{cite news | last = Sharma | first = Ravi Teja | title = Home prices in Lutyens' Delhi rise 8-fold in 10 years | newspaper = The Economic Times | date = 26 April 2013 | url = https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/personal-finance-news/home-prices-in-lutyens-delhi-rise-8-fold-in-10-years/articleshow/19732708.cms | access-date = 24 March 2018}}
In June 2014, Rajiv Rattan, the co-founder of the Indian conglomerate Indiabulls, purchased a {{convert|2920|sqyd|adj=on}} plot for {{INRConvert|220|c}}.{{cite news|last1=Sharma|first1=Ravi Teja|title=Essar group promoters Ruias sell Delhi bungalow to Supreme Court lawyer for Rs 100 crore|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-24/news/51982485_1_delhi-bungalow-ruias-amrita-shergill-marg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729175758/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-24/news/51982485_1_delhi-bungalow-ruias-amrita-shergill-marg|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 July 2014|access-date=21 August 2014|publisher=Economic Times|date=24 July 2014}}
In December 2016, Renuka Talwar, daughter of DLF chairman KP Singh, acquired a bungalow on Prithviraj Road for {{INRConvert|435|c}} which was dubbed one of the biggest property deals in Lutyens' Delhi.{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/dlf-boss-daughter-renuka-talwar-buys-bungalow-in-lutyens-bungalow-zone-for-rs-435-crore/articleshow/56058028.cms|title=DLF boss' daughter Renuka Talwar buys bungalow in Lutyens Bungalow Zone for Rs 435 crore - Times of India|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=19 December 2016}}
=Contiguous areas=
In the vicinity of the vast green expanse of the LBZ is a thick swathe of green, a glacis of trees, manicured lawns, and grand buildings, that afford an impregnable environmental cushion to the LBZ from the swirl and swarm of Delhi's congestion: to the west is the vast, ancient wooded area of the Delhi Ridge, adjoining the grand acres of the Presidential Estate; to the west and south is Nehru Park, the Race Course, an Indian Air Force station, the Delhi Gymkhana Club, Safdarjung Airport, the mid-eighteenth century Safdarjang Tomb, and the Diplomatic Enclave; to the south is the Lodi Gardens, with its baroque and imposing Lodhi-era tombs, and imperial remnants; to the southeast are great lavishly tended greens of Delhi Golf Club, with its Mughal-era ruins; beyond the Golf course, hemming the edges of the LBZ, is the green stretch of the National Zoological Park, lakes, the Purana Qila, and the Humayun's Tomb. The contiguous areas are lavished with as much preponderance of care by the government as is devoted to the LBZ. Those priced out the exorbitant realty prices in the LBZ purchase real estate in the contiguous areas like Jor Bagh, where property prices are almost as steep as in the LBZ.
Notable residents
The official residence of the Prime Minister of India is at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg; the road, designed off-limits to civilians and ordinary traffic, spans a complex of five bungalows, spread over {{convert|12|acres}}. The former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also resided in the LBZ.{{cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Vijaita|title=PM allotted 2.5-acre bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/pm-allotted-2-5-acre-bungalow-in-lutyens-delhi/|access-date=5 June 2014|publisher=Indian express|date=28 February 2014}} He was allotted a Type VIII bungalow at 3 Motilal Nehru Marg (formerly known as York Road), which was previously occupied by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, on 27 February 2014 by Kamal Nath, the Union Minister of Urban Development, on account of his being a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are some of the other prominent politicians who lived at 10, Janpath. Former prime ministers who are not Members of Parliament are not entitled to a government bungalow; however, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, another former Prime Minister who did not serve as a constituent of either houses of the Indian Parliament, resided in a bungalow on Krishna Menon Marg from 2005 until his death in 2018.{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/former-prime-minister-atal-bihari-vajpayee-turns-89-today/441533-3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228064655/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/former-prime-minister-atal-bihari-vajpayee-turns-89-today/441533-3.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 December 2013|title=News18.com: CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News, Current News Headlines|website=News18}}
Notable businessmen include Laxmi N Mittal, KP Singh, Sunil Mittal, C. K. Birla, Shashi Ruia, Ravi Ruia, Analjit Singh, Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Atul Punj.
Gallery
File:SansadBhavan.jpg|Parliament House
File:India Gate-5.jpg|India Gate
File:Jaipur House.jpg|Jaipur House, which houses the National Gallery of Modern Art
See also
References
External links
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/arts/design/30kahn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=Gautam%20Bhatia&st=cse&scp=3 Architecture: Amnesty Plan for Relics of the Raj]. The New York Times. 30 December 2007.
- {{cite web |title=Lutyens' Delhi |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?235665 |date=1 October 2007|publisher=Outlook }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070429172850/http://www.lutyenstrust.org.uk/newdelhinews.htm Edwin Lutyens, New Delhi], The Lutyens Trust.
- Dome Over India, by Aman Nath. Published by India Book House, 2006. {{ISBN|81-7508-352-2}}.
{{Neighborhoods of Delhi}}
Category:Works of Edwin Lutyens in India
Category:Neighbourhoods in Delhi
Category:Tourist attractions in Delhi
Category:20th century in Delhi