Master Plan for Delhi 2047: Once DDA notifies area for town planning, participation must

Until recently, the DDA would acquire land directly, build flats and amenities such as parks and community centres, and then sell the units. But land acquisition, as per DDA, has become increasingly tedious due to high costs, litigation and procedural delays.

The policy seeks tocreateworld-class neighbourhoods with high-rises in the rural belt of Outer Delhi, such as Narela, Bawana and Najafgarh, where haphazard development is currently underway.

Why has the policy struggled?

It was first introduced in the 2007 Delhi Master Plan-2021. Regulations followed in 2013 and were revised in 2018, covering 138 sectors across six zones. However, eight years on, no work has begun in any sector.

There are several reasons behind it:

1. Land assembly proved difficult: Owners had to persuade others to participate and prepare layout plans, often resulting in disputes.
2. Forming a consortium was a hurdle: Landowners of at least 70% of contiguous land in a sector had to come together to form a consortium (a representative body that will take decisions) before a scheme could even be processed. With some sectors covering two or three villages, there were frequent disagreements between landowners.
3. No fixed timeline for development: Rural landowners were expected to give up their land in exchange for a rise in the value of the property they get in return. However, there was no fixed timeline for when development work would begin.
4. What has changed?

Under a TPS, landowners assemble parcels under different ownerships, which are then reconstituted after land is deducted for roads, open spaces, social infrastructure and other services.

Most importantly, once the DDA notifies an area under a TPS, participation will be mandatory, unlike the exisiting land pooling scheme. It is a more structured method, which has been used in Gujarat.

Jagan Shah, former head of the National Institute of Urban Affairs and currently Professor of Practice at IIT Delhi, welcomed the availability of different mechanisms to assemble and redevelop urban land. He, however, cautioned, “The DDA has the discretion in selecting areas it notifies under TPS, which gives rise for opportunities of rent-seeking.”

There are several other key changes too:

Forming a consortium is not necessary anymore. Under the new policy, landowners with contiguous parcels above 20 hectares can approach the DDA directly.

1. Plan permits “any other model” to be specified through future regulations. This gives the DDA flexibility in implementation. “The DDA shall act as a main anchor for preparation of schemes and development of all roads, parks and playgrounds, utilities, services, social infrastructure, social housing etc. as per the approved scheme,” the plan stated.
2. Land-use changes for individual parcels that do not conform to a consortium’s sector plan will take place automatically.

Why is it needed?

Delhi’s affordable housing supply has collapsed even as its population has grown exponentially.

According to data from real estate consultancy Anarock, the share of newly-launched homes priced below Rs 40 lakh fell from 62% in 2020 to just 11% last year, while units priced above Rs 1.5 crore rose from 13% of new supply in 2019 to 70% in 2024.

Much of the region’s legal housing growth has moved to Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida, since Delhi lacks regulations for high-density greenfield construction.

This has resulted in unauthorised and haphazard growth on the city’s fringes: internal DDA assessments show over 3,500 hectares – land the size of 4,900 football fields – has come under unauthorised construction in land pooling areas.

The revised policy is intended to make land assembly workable, open up more developable land and bring planned housing to the city.