Delhi will soon get a new Diplomatic Enclave in Dwarka, at quite a distance from the existing Diplomatic Enclave at Chanakyapuri in the heart of the Capital.
On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved the transfer of land from Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to the Land & Development Office in the Ministry of Urban Development for allocation to missions and other international bodies.
MEA request
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the transfer of 34.87 hectares of land from DDA to enable the emergence of a new diplomatic enclave. The new enclave would come up in Sector 24 of southwest Delhi’s Dwarka.
“This transfer of land in Sector 24 of Dwarka, for the purpose of a second diplomatic enclave in the national capital has been enabled further to the Ministry of External Affairs expressing the need for more land for allotment to diplomatic missions and international organisations for building their Chanceries and Embassies in Delhi,” said a UD Ministry spokesperson.
The development of a Diplomatic Enclave in Delhi was first initiated in 1949 on 328 hectares of land and an additional 132 hectares was allotted as Diplomatic Enclave Extension in 1953.
Infrastructure projects
Of the total 460 hectares, 147 hectares has been allotted to 76 missions and embassies. The rest has been utilised for parks, roads, infrastructure, schools, hospitals and residential plots etc.
“At present, there is no land available in the Diplomatic Enclave in Chanakyapuri for allotment to foreign missions and embassies,” the spokesperson said.
Rented properties
Due to the unavailability of land, 39 embassies of countries are forced to function out of rented properties spread across the Capital. With the new Diplomatic Enclave now slated to come up, 42 plots are going to be carved out from the land parcel, of which 21 would have the size of 2,000 square metres and the rest would be spread over 1,500 square metres each.
The plan to move diplomatic missions operating out of rented properties to a new diplomatic enclave is nearly a decade old.
The idea was first mooted by the Ministry of External Affairs but enough land was not available in Chanakyapuri or its adjacent areas. The Ministry of Urban Development had then identified a land parcel in Sector 24 of Dwarka for the new Diplomatic Enclave.
