The proposed Dwarka station of the Delhi-Amritsar high-speed rail corridor is being moved away from the populated Lal Dora areas of Dhulsiras and Bamnoli after the Delhi Development Authority agreed to provide vacant non-residential land near the villages. The change is expected to prevent the demolition of homes and reduce displacement linked to the station’s construction.
The station was initially planned near Yashobhoomi in Dwarka, between the Lal Dora areas of Dhulsiras and Bamnoli. Under the earlier alignment, the proposed site would have affected densely inhabited parts of both villages, putting several houses at risk. The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited is now preparing a revised alignment using land adjoining the villages where there is no residential population, according to the report.
The change follows opposition from local groups, including the Delhi Dehat Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Dhulsiras Welfare Association, Bamnoli Gram Vikas Committee and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Brigade. These organisations raised concerns over the likely impact of the original station plan on village homes and residents.
The South-West Delhi district administration and the Lieutenant Governor took up the issue after the residents’ groups joined the campaign. They subsequently wrote to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited, seeking a change in the station alignment in the public interest. The issue was later raised in a meeting involving a Member of Parliament and the DDA Vice-Chairperson.
At that meeting, the DDA agreed in principle to make its land near the villages available instead of using the inhabited Lal Dora area for the station. The authority is providing land classified as non-residential, with the stated aim of keeping demolition to a minimum or avoiding it altogether. The project authorities are now reworking the station plan on that basis.
The Delhi-Amritsar high-speed rail corridor is proposed to cover 453 kilometres and connect Delhi with Amritsar through 10 stations. The reported station list includes Delhi, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Beas and Amritsar. Trains on the corridor are planned to operate at speeds of between 250 kmph and 350 kmph.
The Dwarka alignment decision highlights a recurring challenge in urban infrastructure planning: large transport projects often require land in areas where formal layouts, village settlements and established homes overlap. In this case, the reported shift places an available public land parcel at the centre of efforts to protect existing residences while retaining the proposed station in the Dwarka-Yashobhoomi area.
The revised alignment is expected to be sent to the Ministry of Railways for final approval. Until that approval is granted, the precise station footprint and the final extent of land required remain subject to the updated design and administrative clearances.
