IMPACT OF MRTS ON URBAN LAND: CASE STUDY OF DELHI

Abstract

A Mass Rapid Transit System or Metro Rail is considered to be the ideal solution in a congested transit corridor for a large city. MRTS mainly impacts accessibility, travel pattern, land use, land values etc. It can increase the accessibility of remote areas; it can act as a catalyst for urban redevelopment. On the other hand if MRTS nodes are not planned, chaotic urban transformations take place as a result of increased accessibility and consequently, increase in land value which leads to a takeover by market forces. This result in chaos and congestion, rapid developments take place along MRTS corridor and within their influence area. Often the effects of such MRTS corridors are detrimental and can be in an unintended manner. It is very important to check the real impact of MRTS after its operation for several years. Therefore a systematic study is needed to analyse the change in urban form along metro nodes and its influence zone, to guide the future developments in an organised manner. The need of study lies in understanding the intensity of the impact of transit on the terminal stations and along the corridor as a whole. The present work is an effort to identify the causes and impacts of Metro on the surrounding land values and land use pattern. The area selected for the study has a totally different character composition in comparison to the other areas where metro rail has been implemented. The corridor between two major nodes of MRTS in Delhi i.e, Anand Vihar and Yamuna Bank is an overhead section which passes through different zones within Delhi and also through the River Yamuna. This area covers metro stations like Lakshmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, Preet Vihar and Karkardooma stations. During the study, the data is collected in form of maps from the previous studies as well as present data and primary data collection is done by mapping the existing land use of the area on software like Erdas Imagine and GIS and carrying out field surveys. For conducting the primary survey, reconnaissance survey was conducted & GPS (hand held) was used to capture location details. The survey findings revealed facts that have been analysed further as part of this study. The development controls and bye-laws have been changed without considering master plan with the implementation of MRTS in the study area. Mixed Land-Use is prominent in the studyarea which is increasing economy. The methodology adopted was totally on the basis of comparison of pre and post metro development of the selected corridor. The study will enable policy makers and planners to access the impact of MRTS from the real life case study and formulate future plan of action.