The current permanent population of the Dholera Special Investment Region is very small, likely consisting of only a few thousand people living in the original village areas. While the project is designed to eventually hold 2 million people, it is currently a massive construction site rather than a finished city where people live and work in large numbers.
My Life Watching Cities Grow
I have been in the real estate game for over 50 years now. I remember when parts of Gurgaon were just empty fields where cows grazed and nobody wanted to buy land. I saw the same thing happen in Navi Mumbai. People always ask me the same question: “How many people live there right now?”
They ask because they are scared. They don’t want to be the only ones standing in a ghost town. But you have to understand that a Smart City like Dholera is built in stages. You cannot move into a house if the water pipes are still being laid under the road.
Breaking Down the Numbers
When we talk about population in a place like this, we have to look at three different groups of people. It is not just one simple number.
- The Original Villagers: There are about 22 villages inside the Dholera SIR area. These people have lived there for a long time. Based on the old census data and natural growth, there are maybe 30,000 to 40,000 people in these small villages spread across the big land.
- The Construction Workers: This is the group that is actually there right now. If you go to the site, you will see thousands of workers. They are building the Activation Area, which is the first part of the city. These people live in temporary camps. They are not permanent “citizens” yet.
- The Early Investors: These are people like you who bought plots. Most of these people live in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, or even London and Dubai. They own the land, but they have not built houses yet. Their names are on the papers at the Sub-Registrar office, but their bodies are not in Dholera.
Why the Number Feels Small
I talked to a young fellow last month who was upset because he didn’t see any malls or schools full of kids. I told him he was looking for a finished cake when the oven is still pre-heating.
- Infrastructure First: The government is spending billions on “plug and play” systems. This means the roads, power lines, and data cables go in before the buildings. You don’t see people living there because the Industrial Smart City rules say the factories come first, then the houses.
- The Activation Area: This is a 22.5 square kilometer space. It is the only part ready for real action. Even here, the “population” is mostly engineers and managers from companies like Tata Electronics who are setting up shops.
- The 2042 Goal: The big plan says Dholera will have 800,000 jobs. If you have that many jobs, you will easily get 2 million people. But that is a long way off. Right now, it is a place for work, not for residential living.
A Warning From an Old Man
Don’t let anyone sell you a dream by lying about the population. If a broker tells you there are already 100,000 people living in new apartments, he is a liar. I have seen many people lose their life savings because they believed a smooth talker.
Always check the Gujarat RERA website before you put down a single rupee. I have watched cities grow from dust, and it takes time. Dholera is currently a “work in progress.” It is a giant machine being built, and the people will only come once the machine starts running.
If you want to live there today, you will be very lonely. But if you want to own a piece of the future, you have to be okay with the fact that the current population is mostly workers and a few thousand villagers. That is the honest truth from someone who has seen it all.
