Megaproject, rules and relationships with the law: The metro rail in east Delhi

Abstract

Concrete pillars of the metro rail are a noticeable skyline feature for new comers in Delhi. Today 190 km of its huge network is operational and transports about 3 million passengers every day. This chapter deals with the financing instrument of the metro rail through land value capture: the metro rail leads to a spatial cohabitation of transport functions as well as real estate within Delhi. We will show that among state actors, the central state acting through special agencies dominates the landscape. Megaprojects as delineated geographic space are tools to assert control over urban land management. An analysis of a project in East Delhi reveals that the relations between powerful actors enable the mobilization at different scales of specific rules and relationships with the law as resources to define and control the megaproject. However, the social issue directly related to the impacts of the megaproject is delegated to elected politicians at lower scales of decision.