National Capital Territory Of Delhi
Delhi's urban agglomeration, which includes the satellite cities Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida and YEIDA city located in an area known as the National Capital Region (NCR), has an estimated population of over 28 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in India and the second-largest in the world (after Tokyo).
The topography of the medieval fort Purana Qila on the banks of the river Yamuna matches the literary description of the citadel Indraprastha in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata; however, excavations in the area have revealed no signs of an ancient built environment. From the early 13th century until the mid-19th century, Delhi was the capital of two major empires, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, which covered large parts of South Asia. All three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city, the Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, and the Red Fort, belong to this period. Delhi was the early centre of Sufism and Qawwali music. The names of Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusrau are prominently associated with it. The Khariboli dialect of Delhi was part of a linguistic development that gave rise to the literature of Urdu and later Modern Standard Hindi. Major Urdu poets from Delhi include Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib. Delhi was a notable centre of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In 1911, New Delhi, a southern region within Delhi, became the capital of the British Indian Empire. During the Partition of India in 1947, Delhi was transformed from a Mughal city to a Punjabi one, losing two-thirds of its Muslim residents, in part due to the pressure brought to bear by arriving Hindu and Sikh refugees from western Punjab. After independence in 1947, New Delhi continued as the capital of the Dominion of India, and after 1950 of the Republic of India.
Delhi ranks fifth among the Indian states and union territories in human development index, and has the second-highest GDP per capita in India (after Goa). Although a union territory, the political administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a state of India, with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a chief minister. New Delhi is jointly administered by the federal government of India and the local government of Delhi, and serves as the capital of the nation as well as the NCT of Delhi. Delhi is also the centre of the National Capital Region, which is an "interstate regional planning" area created in 1985. Delhi hosted the inaugural 1951 Asian Games, the 1982 Asian Games, the 1983 Non-Aligned Movement summit, the 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2012 BRICS summit, the 2023 G20 summit, and was one of the major host cities of the 2011 and 2023 Cricket World Cups.
Toponym
There are several myths and legends associated with the origin of the name Delhi. One of them is derived from Dhillu or Dilu, a king who built a city at this location in 50 BCE and named it after himself. Another legend holds that the name of the city is based on the Prakrit word dhili (loose) and that it was used by the Tomaras to refer to the city because the iron pillar of Delhi had a weak foundation and had to be moved. According to Panjab Notes and Queries, the name of the city at the time of King Prithviraj was dilpat, and that dilpat and dilli are probably derived from the old Hindi word dil meaning "eminence". The former director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Alexander Cunningham, mentioned that dilli later became dihli/dehli. Some suggest the coins in circulation in the region under the Tomaras were called dehliwal. According to the Bhavishya Purana, King Prithiviraja of Indraprastha built a new fort in the modern-day Purana Qila area for the convenience of all four castes in his kingdom. He ordered the construction of a gateway to the fort and later named the fort dehali. Some historians believe that Dhilli or Dhillika is the original name for the city while others believe the name could be a corruption of the Hindustani words dehleez or dehali—both terms meaning "threshold" or "gateway"—and symbolic of the city as a gateway to the Gangetic Plain.
The people of Delhi are referred to as Delhiites or Dilliwalas. The city is referenced in various idioms of the Northern Indo-Aryan languages. Examples include:
- Abhī Dillī dūr hai (अभी दिल्ली दूर है / ابھی دلی دور ہے) or its Persian version, Hanuz Dehli dur ast (هنوز دهلی دور است), literally meaning "Delhi is still far away", which is generically said about a task or journey still far from completion.
- Ās-pās barse, Dillī pānī tarse (आस-पास बरसे, दिल्ली पानी तरसे / آس پاس برسے، دلی پانی ترسے), literally meaning "It pours all around, while Delhi lies parched". An allusion to the sometimes semi-arid climate of Delhi, it idiomatically refers to situations of deprivation when one is surrounded by plenty.
The form Delhi, spelled in the Latin script with the h following the l, originated under colonial rule and is an alternation of the spelling based on the Urdu name of the city (دہلی, Dehli).
History
Ancient and early medieval periods
Traditionally seven cities have been associated with the region of Delhi. The earliest, Indraprastha, is part of a literary description in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata (composed c. 400 BCE to 300 CE but describing an earlier time) which situates a city on a knoll on the banks of the river Yamuna. According to art historian Catherine B. Asher, the topographical description of the Mahabharata matches the area of Purana Qila, a 14th-century CE fort of the Delhi sultanate, but the analogy does not go much further. Whereas the Mahabharata speaks of a beautifully decorated city with surrounding fortifications, the excavations have yielded "uneven findings of painted grey pottery characteristic of the eleventh century BCE; no signs of a built environment, much fewer fortifications, have been revealed."
The earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period (c. 300 BCE); in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273–235 BCE) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of several major cities can be found in Delhi. The first of these was in the southern part of present-day Delhi. Tomara Rajput King Anang Pal built the Lal Kot and several temples in 1052 CE. The Chauhan Rajputs under Vigraharaja IV conquered Lal Kot in the mid-12th century and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.
Late medieval period
Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori in the second battle of Tarain. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, was given the responsibility of governing the conquered territories of India after Ghori returned to his capital, Ghor. When Ghori died without an heir in 1206 CE, Qutb-ud-din assumed control of Ghori's Indian possessions and laid the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mamluk dynasty. He began construction of the Qutb Minar and Quwwat-al-Islam (Might of Islam) mosque, the earliest extant mosque in India. It was his successor, Iltutmish (1211–1236), who consolidated the Turkic conquest of northern India. At 72.5 m (238 ft), the Qutb Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi, was completed during the reign of Sultan Illtutmish in the 13th century. Although its style has some similarities with the Jarkurgan minaret, it is more closely related to the Ghaznavid and Ghurid minarets of Central Asia Razia, daughter of Iltutmish, became the Sultana of Delhi upon the former's death.
For the next three hundred years, Delhi was ruled by a succession of Turkic and an Afghan, Lodi dynasty. They built several forts and townships that are part of the seven cities of Delhi. Delhi was a major centre of Sufism during this period. The Mamluk Sultanate (Delhi) was overthrown in 1290 by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji (1290–1320). Under the second Khalji ruler, Ala-ud-din Khalji, the Delhi sultanate extended its control south of the Narmada River in the Deccan. The Delhi sultanate reached its greatest extent during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325–1351). In an attempt to bring the whole of the Deccan under control, he moved his capital to Daulatabad, Maharashtra in central India. However, by moving away from Delhi he lost control of the north and was forced to return to Delhi to restore order. The southern provinces then broke away. In the years following the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388), the Delhi Sultanate rapidly began to lose its hold over its northern provinces. Delhi was captured and sacked by Timur in 1398, who massacred 100,000 captive civilians. Delhi's decline continued under the Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451), until the sultanate was reduced to Delhi and its hinterland. Under the Afghan Lodi dynasty (1451–1526), the sultanate recovered control of Punjab and the Gangetic plain to once again achieve domination over Northern India. However, the recovery was short-lived and the sultanate was destroyed in 1526 by Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty.
Early modern period
In 1526, Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur from the Fergana Valley in modern-day Uzbekistan, invaded India and defeated the last Lodhi sultan in the First Battle of Panipat and founded the Mughal Empire that ruled from Delhi and Agra. The Mughal dynasty ruled Delhi for more than three centuries, with a sixteen-year hiatus during the reigns of Sher Shah Suri and Hemu from 1540 to 1556. Shah Jahan built the seventh city of Delhi that bears his name Shahjahanabad, which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1638 and is today known as the Old City or Old Delhi.
After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire from Deccan Plateau rose to prominence. In 1737, Maratha forces led by Baji Rao I sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but militarily superior Persian army led by Nader Shah of Persia. After his invasion, he completely sacked and looted Delhi, carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor. The Mughals, severely further weakened, could never overcome this crushing defeat and humiliation which also left the way open for more invaders to come, including eventually the British. Nader eventually agreed to leave the city and India after forcing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah I to beg him for mercy and granting him the keys of the city and the royal treasury. A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protectors of the Mughal throne in Delhi. The city was sacked again in 1757 by the forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani, although it was not annexed by the Afghan Empire and being its vassal state under the Mughal emperor. Then the Marathas battled and won control of Delhi from the Mughals.
Colonial period
In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of the British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi. The Mughal emperors continued to live inside the Red Fort and a British resident was placed in the Mughal court. The East India Company became the dominant political and military power in mid-nineteenth century India. The emperor still was respected by the company, who provided him with a pension. The emperor permitted the company to collect taxes from Delhi and maintain a military force in it. However, his title was slowly reduced from the "Emperor of India" to the "King of Delhi" during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar as the new British residents continued to undermine the Mughal authority. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Delhi fell to the forces of East India Company after a bloody fight known as the Siege of Delhi. The city came under the direct control of the British Government in 1858. It was made a district province of the Punjab. In 1911, it was announced that the capital of British-held territories in India was to be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. This formally transferred on 12 December 1911.
The name "New Delhi" was given in 1927, and the new capital was inaugurated on 13 February 1931. New Delhi was officially declared as the capital of the Union of India after the country gained independence on 15 August 1947. It has expanded since; the small part of it that was constructed during the British period has come to be informally known as Lutyens' Delhi.
Partition and post-independence
During the partition of India, around five hundred thousand Hindu and Sikh refugees, mainly from West Punjab fled to Delhi, while around three hundred thousand Muslim residents of the city migrated to Pakistan. Ethnic Punjabis are believed to account for at least 40% of Delhi's total population and are predominantly Hindi-speaking Punjabi Hindus. Migration to Delhi from the rest of India continues (as of 2013), contributing more to the rise of Delhi's population than the birth rate, which is declining.
The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 created the Union Territory of Delhi from its predecessor, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi. The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Act gave Delhi its legislative assembly along Civil lines, though with limited powers.
Delhi was the primary site in the nationwide anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984, which resulted in the death of around 2,800 people in the city according to government figures, though independent estimates of the number of people killed tend to be higher. The riots were set off by the assassination of Indira Gandhi—the Prime Minister of India at the time—by her Sikh bodyguards.
In 2001, the Parliament of India building in New Delhi was attacked by armed militants, killing six security personnel. India suspected Pakistan-based Jihadist militant groups were behind the attack, which caused a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries. There were further terrorist attacks in Delhi in 2005 and 2008, resulting in a total of 92 deaths. In 2020, Delhi witnessed the worst communal violence in decades. The riots, caused mainly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims, 53 people were killed, two-thirds were Muslims, and the rest Hindus.
Geography
Delhi is located in Northern India, at 28°37′N 77°14′E / 28.61°N 77.23°E. The city is bordered on its northern, western, and southern sides by the state of Haryana and to the east by that of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Two prominent features of the geography of Delhi are the Yamuna flood plains and the Delhi ridge. The Yamuna River was the historical boundary between Punjab and UP, and its flood plains provide fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture but, are prone to recurrent floods. The Yamuna, a sacred river in Hinduism, is the only major river flowing through Delhi. The Hindon River separates Ghaziabad from the eastern part of Delhi. The Delhi ridge originates from the Aravalli Range in the south and encircles the west, northeast, and northwest parts of the city. It reaches a height of 318 m (1,043 ft) and is a dominant feature of the region.
In addition to the wetlands formed by the Yamuna River, Delhi continues to retain over 500 ponds (wetlands < 5 ha (12 acres)), that in turn support a considerable number of bird species. Delhi's ponds, despite experiencing ecological deterioration due to garbage dumping and concretisation, support the largest number of bird species known to be using ponds anywhere in the world. Existing policy in Delhi prevents the conversion of wetlands and, quite inadvertently, has led to the city's ponds becoming invaluable refugia for birds.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi covers an area of 1,483 km (573 sq mi), of which 783 km (302 sq mi) is designated rural, and 700 km (270 sq mi) urban therefore making it the largest city in terms of area in the country. It has a length of 51.9 km (32 mi) and a width of 48.48 km (30 mi). Delhi is included in India's seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major earthquakes.
Climate
Delhi features a dry winter humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) bordering a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The warm season lasts from 21 March to 15 June, with an average daily high temperature above 39 °C (102 °F) in May. The hottest day of the year is usually witnessed between 26 and 30 May, with an average high of 42 °C (108 °F) and low of 27 °C (81 °F). The cold season lasts from 26 November to 9 February with an average daily high temperature below 24 °C (75 °F). The coldest day of the year is usually witnessed between 1 and 10 January, with an average low of 6.9 °C (44.4 °F) and high of 19.3 °C (66.7 °F). In early March, the wind direction changes from north-westerly to south-westerly. From April to October the weather is hot. The monsoon arrives at the end of June, along with an increase in humidity. The brief, mild winter starts in late November, peaks in January and heavy fog often occurs. Delhi receives an average annual precipitation of 774.4 mm (30.49 in).
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Record high °C (°F) | 32.5 (90.5) |
34.1 (93.4) |
40.6 (105.1) |
45.6 (114.1) |
47.2 (117.0) |
46.7 (116.1) |
45.0 (113.0) |
42.0 (107.6) |
40.6 (105.1) |
39.4 (102.9) |
36.1 (97.0) |
30.0 (86.0) |
47.2 (117.0) |
Mean maximum °C (°F) | 25.8 (78.4) |
29.5 (85.1) |
35.8 (96.4) |
41.4 (106.5) |
44.3 (111.7) |
43.7 (110.7) |
40.1 (104.2) |
37.4 (99.3) |
37.1 (98.8) |
36.1 (97.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
27.3 (81.1) |
44.8 (112.6) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.1 (68.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
39.9 (103.8) |
39.0 (102.2) |
35.6 (96.1) |
34.2 (93.6) |
34.1 (93.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
28.4 (83.1) |
22.8 (73.0) |
31.4 (88.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
29.1 (84.4) |
32.7 (90.9) |
33.3 (91.9) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.4 (86.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
26.2 (79.2) |
20.5 (68.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
25.3 (77.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
15.6 (60.1) |
21.3 (70.3) |
25.8 (78.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.5 (81.5) |
26.7 (80.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
13.0 (55.4) |
8.4 (47.1) |
18.9 (66.0) |
Mean minimum °C (°F) | 3.5 (38.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
16.3 (61.3) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.2 (72.0) |
24.3 (75.7) |
23.7 (74.7) |
21.9 (71.4) |
15.0 (59.0) |
8.8 (47.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
3.1 (37.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
17.6 (63.7) |
20.3 (68.5) |
20.7 (69.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 19.1 (0.75) |
21.3 (0.84) |
17.4 (0.69) |
16.3 (0.64) |
30.7 (1.21) |
74.1 (2.92) |
209.7 (8.26) |
233.1 (9.18) |
123.5 (4.86) |
15.1 (0.59) |
6.0 (0.24) |
8.1 (0.32) |
774.4 (30.5) |
Average rainy days | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 9.7 | 10.2 | 5.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 40.6 |
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 57 | 46 | 37 | 25 | 28 | 43 | 63 | 68 | 60 | 47 | 52 | 59 | 49 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 8 (46) |
11 (52) |
14 (57) |
14 (57) |
18 (64) |
22 (72) |
26 (79) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
18 (64) |
14 (57) |
10 (50) |
17 (62) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 220.1 | 223.2 | 248.0 | 276.0 | 285.2 | 219.0 | 179.8 | 176.7 | 219.0 | 260.4 | 246.0 | 220.1 | 2,773.5 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 7.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 7.1 | 7.6 |
Mean daily daylight hours | 10.6 | 11.2 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 12.2 |
Percent possible sunshine | 67 | 71 | 67 | 71 | 68 | 53 | 42 | 44 | 59 | 73 | 77 | 69 | 63 |
Average ultraviolet index | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
Source 1: India Meteorological Department (sun 1971–2000); Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005–2015) Revised Rainfall data | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020); Weather Atlas (UV Index)(Daylight) |
Air pollution
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Delhi was the most polluted city in the world in 2014. In 2016, WHO downgraded Delhi to eleventh-worst in the urban air quality database. However, as recently as 2022, data from the WHO and IQAir, alongside comprehensive research, ranked Delhi as the fourth most polluted city globally. According to one estimate, air pollution causes the death of about 10,500 people every year. The air quality index is generally moderate (101–200) level between January and September, and then it drastically deteriorates to Very Poor (301–400), Severe (401–500) or Hazardous (500+) levels in three months between October and December, due to various factors including stubble burning (a type of biomass burning), firecrackers burning during Diwali and cold weather. During 2013–14, peak levels of fine particulate matter (PM) increased by about 44%, primarily due to high vehicular and industrial emissions, construction work and crop burning in adjoining states. It has the highest level of airborne particulate matter, PM2.5 considered most harmful to health, with 153 micrograms.
Rising air pollution levels have significantly increased lung-related ailments (especially asthma and lung cancer) among Delhi's children and women. The dense smog and haze during winter results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year. According to Indian meteorologists, the average maximum temperature during winters has declined notably since 1998 due to rising air pollution.
India's Ministry of Earth Sciences published a research paper in October 2018 attributing almost 41% of PM2.5 air pollution in Delhi to vehicular emissions, 21.5% to dust/fire and 18% to industries. The director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) alleged that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is lobbying "against the report" because it is "inconvenient" to the automobile industry. Environmentalists have also criticised the Delhi government for not doing enough to curb air pollution and to inform people about air quality issues. In 2014, an environmental panel appealed to India's Supreme Court to impose a 30% cess (tax) on diesel cars, but to date no action has been taken to penalise the automobile industry.
Most of Delhi's residents are unaware of alarming levels of air pollution in the city and the health risks associated with it. In 2020, the annual average PM2.5 in the city stood at 107.6 μg/m, which is almost 21.5 times the WHO's PM2.5 Guideline (5 μg/m; set in September 2021). These pollution levels are estimated to reduce the life expectancy of an average person living in Delhi by almost 10.1 years.
However, as of 2015, awareness, particularly among the foreign diplomatic community and high-income Indians, was noticeably increasing. Since the mid-1990s, Delhi has undertaken some measures to curb air pollution—it has the third-highest quantity of trees among Indian cities; the Delhi Transport Corporation operates the world's largest fleet of environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. In 1996, the CSE started a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court of India that ordered the conversion of Delhi's fleet of buses and taxis to run on CNG and banned the use of leaded petrol in 1998. In 2003, Delhi won the United States Department of Energy's first 'Clean Cities International Partner of the Year' award for its "bold efforts to curb air pollution and support alternative fuel initiatives". The Delhi Metro has also been credited for significantly reducing air pollutants in the city.
However, according to several authors, most of these gains have been lost, especially due to stubble burning, a rise in the market share of diesel cars and a considerable decline in bus ridership. According to CSE and System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), burning of agricultural waste in nearby Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regions results in severe intensification of smog over Delhi.
Civic administration
Currently, the NCT of Delhi is made up of one division, 11 districts, 33 subdivisions, 59 census towns, and 300 villages. On the other way, the NCT of Delhi is divided into three municipalities. The boundaries of municipali ties may be different from district boundaries:
- Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which occupies an area of 1,397.3 km (539.5 sq mi) and is sub-divided into 12 zones, that is, Centre, South, West, Najafgarh, Rohini, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, SP-City, Keshavpuram, Narela, Shahdara North and Shahdara South. Shelly Oberoi, is the current mayor of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi since 2023.
- New Delhi Municipality , which occupies an area of 42.7 km (16.5 sq mi)
- Delhi Cantonment, which occupies an area of 42.3 km (16.3 sq mi)
Between 13 January 2011 and 22 May 2022, MCD was divided into three municipal corporations:
- South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) had jurisdiction over South and West Delhi areas, including Mahipalpur, Rajouri Garden, Uttam Nagar, Badarpur, Jaitpur, Janakpuri, Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Dwarka, Jungpura, Greater Kailash, R K Puram, Malviya Nagar, Kalkaji, Ambedkar Nagar and Pul pehladpur.
- North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) had jurisdiction over areas such as Badli, Rithala, Bawana, Kirari, Mangolpuri, Tri Nagar, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Karol Bagh, Moti Nagar
- East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) had jurisdiction over areas such as Patparganj, Kondli, Laxmi Nagar, Seemapuri, Gonda, Karawal Nagar, Babarpur and Shahadra.
Delhi is home to the High Court of Delhi. The High Court of Delhi is the highest in the Delhi before Supreme Court. The High Court of Delhi just like the apex court and other High Courts in India is the Court of record. Delhi is also home to various District Court according to jurisdictions. Delhi have Currently seven District Courts namely Tis Hazari Court Complex, Karkardooma Court Complex, Patiala House Court Complex, Rohini Court Complex, Dwarka Courts Complex, Saket Court Complex, and Rouse Avenue Court Apart from the District Courts Delhi also have Consumer Courts, CBI Courts, Labour Courts, Revenue Courts, Army tribunals, electricity tribunals, Railway Tribunals, and other various tribunals situated according to appropriate jurisdictions.
For policing purposes Delhi is divided into fifteen police districts which are further subdivided into 95 local police station zones. Delhi currently has 180 police stations.