NEW DELHI: For Delhi, Thursday brought the master plan the national capital had been waiting for since its previous Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) lapsed in 2021.
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal unveiled MPD 2047, placing a major thrust on 40 lakh new residential units, with affordable housing at the core, to meet the needs of a projected population of 3.2 crore by 2047.
The revised blueprint for the planned development of Delhi and its infrastructure allows greater vertical expansion, alongside changes in floor area ratio (FAR) and other building controls. One of the biggest changes is the removal of height restrictions across most parts of the city.
The restrictions will remain in certain areas—the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalow Area, Connaught Place and its extension, Zone ‘O’, covering the Yamuna floodplain and the Ridge, Land Pooling Areas, Low Density Areas, and areas restricted under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the National Monuments Authority (NMA).
For people living in existing built-up areas, the plan sets out a framework for renewal. The minimum area requirement for redevelopment has been reduced from 40,000 square metres (sqm) to 3,000 sqm. This is likely to provide around seven lakh additional dwelling units.
As part of the efforts to renew existing built-up areas such as group and DDA housing, Resident Welfare Associations will be encouraged to register and adopt a redevelopment framework on the lines of the in-situ redevelopment policy. The move is aimed at facilitating planned redevelopment and improvement of existing residential areas.
The plan also provides a regeneration framework for eligible unauthorised colonies alongside the existing regularisation process.
Affordable housing has been given several provisions in the blueprint. Khattar said affordable housing would be developed along High Density Corridors. To achieve the goal of affordable housing for all, the MPD proposes a 50% FAR incentive to encourage rental housing for students, working professionals, migrant workers and low-income groups.
Workers will have a separate housing provision. The plan offers an additional 15% FAR for workers’ housing on industrial plots of 5,000 sqm and above.
Delhi’s public transport network is also set for expansion. The MPD envisages a major expansion of the Delhi Metro network to around 695 km by 2047. The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy has been incorporated to strengthen public transport corridors.
The plan also recognises new forms of economic activity. Data centres, co-working areas and cloud kitchens constitute a new economies category. Khattar said its implementation would be more effective compared to previous master plans because there was now a triple-engine government.