Dharuhera’s hopes of emerging as the operational hub of the Rs 37,000-crore Delhi-Alwar Namo Bharat corridor have suffered a major setback, with the maintenance depot originally planned for the industrial township being shifted to Panchgaon in Gurugram district.
The decision deprives Dharuhera of what was expected to be the project’s biggest economic catalyst. While the town will continue to have a Namo Bharat station on the main corridor, it will no longer host the central maintenance and operations depot, a facility that would have generated long-term employment, commercial activity and supporting infrastructure.
The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has completed the survey of the 93.5-km corridor from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Bawal. Land assessment and soil testing have been carried out at 22 locations along the alignment. The Gurugram administration has already submitted the Panchgaon depot site report to the Haryana Government, and civil construction is expected to begin after final land approval. The corridor is targeted for completion by 2031.
The depot relocation marks the second major revision to the project’s first phase. Earlier, the initial alignment was proposed to extend up to Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror, but the first phase has since been curtailed to Bawal.
For Dharuhera, however, the bigger setback is the loss of the depot itself. The facility was planned as the operational nerve centre of the corridor, housing train maintenance yards, simulators, automated fleet management systems and a permanent workforce. Urban planners say such depots typically spur commercial development, housing demand and ancillary industries in surrounding areas.
The decision comes as a disappointment for a town that has long been projected as a key growth centre along the Delhi-Jaipur corridor. Located on NH-48, about an hour from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Dharuhera has been identified as a Growth Corridor and Opportunity Area in regional planning documents, including the Dharuhera Master Plan 2021 and the NCR Draft Regional Plan 2041.
Although plans for ring roads, elevated corridors, a 28-km feeder road to Sohna and expanded manufacturing zones have been proposed, residents and industrialists say civic infrastructure has lagged behind industrial growth. Poor internal roads, inadequate drainage and limited social infrastructure continue to remain major concerns despite the presence of several automobile and auto-component manufacturing units.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Captain Ajay Yadav criticised the decision, alleging continued neglect of the region.
“This act has yet again exhibited the step-motherly treatment meted out to Rewari. Manesar is already developed, while Dharuhera — despite being a major contributor to the state’s industrial exchequer — has long been ignored. Taking this opportunity away has robbed the area of the much-required impetus it deserved,” he said.
Real estate prices in Dharuhera have also risen sharply in anticipation of the RRTS project, increasing from around Rs 20,000 per square yard in 2019 to nearly Rs 65,000-70,000 by 2025. The fully operational Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor has shown that properties within 2 km of stations appreciated by 35-40% within two years of operations.
While Dharuhera’s confirmed station is expected to improve regional connectivity, the loss of the depot significantly reduces the scale of investment and economic activity that residents and businesses had anticipated.
