Delhi Master Plan 2041 May Be Ready By 2021-End: DDA

Even as residents and civil society groups in the national capital debate the merits and demerits of the Delhi Master Plan 2041 (MPD 2041), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chairman Anurag Jain said that the plan would be ready by 2021-end.

“There were many challenges in preparing the MPD-2041. All the previous mater plans of Delhi, including the current MPD-2021, were completed after the stipulated time frame. However, MPD-2041 has been prepared within the stipulated time, despite delays in the process due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jain said.

Recall here that the Delhi Development Authority released the Delhi Draft Master Plan 2041 on June 9, 2021, to invite suggestions and feedback and set a 45-day deadline for the same, after the draft received a preliminary approval from the DDA’s advisory council, chaired by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal.

However, it later had to extend the deadline to receive public opinion of the Delhi master plan till August 23, 2021, amid rising concerns among citizens and civil groups that the MPD should have provisions that focus on creating children and women-friendly infrastructure.

Recently, the Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) recommended that the Delhi Master Plan 2041 needed to be more child-centric and the national capital should be designed to include provisions for child-friendly mobility, creche facilities and feeding rooms to increase women’s participation in the workforce. 

“Currently, 30% of Delhi's population comprises children in the age group of 0-18 and the overall population of Delhi is expected to grow to about 3.9 crores. Assuming 30% of those still continue to be children in the age group of 0-18, around 1.17 crore children would be there in Delhi by 2041,” the child rights panel said, suggesting that 30% of the area in the 18 planning zones across the capital be specifically earmarked for children-related activities.

The land earmarked for this purpose could be used to build child protection units, child care institutes, schools, anganwadi centres, creches and day-care centres, hostels, paediatric wards, hospitals, etc., the panel suggested. The panel also suggested that existing offices must retrofit themselves with facilities such as creches and feeding rooms, to increase women's participation in the workforce while all new offices must come up only after having provisions for such amenities.

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DDA Approves Delhi Master Plan 2041

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has approved the draft Master Plan 2041 (MPD 2041), in a meeting held by the development body on April 13, 2021. Earlier, the DDA said it planned to implement the master plan after the term of the MPD 2021 is over on March 26, 2021. The master plan, which aims at promoting rental housing among other things,  will now be sent to the union housing ministry for its approval.

Terming the MPD 2041 as a ‘strategic’ and ‘enabling’ framework that would guide the future growth of the national capital, the DDA said that the new framework has been drawn, based on the lessons learnt from the the master plans of 1962, 2001 and 2021.

“The master plan seeks to make Delhi an environmentally sustainable city that offers quality, affordable and safe living, while providing opportunities for economic, creative and cultural development,” Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal said, in a tweet. Nearly 70 agencies and over 150 departments were involved in preparing the MPD 2041, while suggestions from the Delhi residents were also received.

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Govt In Process To Prepare Delhi Master Plan 2041

The government is in the process of preparing a new master plan for the national capital, to ensure ease of living and to provide urban amenities to its citizens, the Housing Ministry said, in a press release on January 11, 2021. According to the ministry, the vision for Delhi Master Plan 2041 is to 'foster a sustainable, liveable and vibrant Delhi by 2041'.

The Delhi Master Plan 2041, said the release, will enable stakeholders to know the exact policies that apply on their land and properties and simplify the norms related to use of premises and activities, flexibility in FAR (floor area ratio) use, parking requirements and enable flexibility in customising future developments for meeting people’s needs.

The 2041 Master Plan will aim at incentivising new formats like serviced apartments, condominiums, hostels, student housing, worker housing, etc., with an aim to boost real estate in a city where over 40 lakh people reside in unauthorised colonies.

The plans will also promote transfer of development rights-based projects, to bring jobs and homes closer to mass-transit systems and devise comprehensive strategies for improving old and dilapidated areas in the city.

The outreach of the new master plan includes schools, universities, residents’ welfare associations, civil society groups and campaigns, traders and market associations, environment experts, industry groups, professional bodies, etc.

To be Delhi’s fourth master plan, the Master Plan 2041 offers a development perspective for the national capital for the next 20 years - from 2021 to 2041. However, till the time the vision document for the next two decades is not implemented, the Delhi Master Plan of 2021 will be in force.

The key focus areas under the 2041 Master Plan will be providing high quality green-blue areas for recreation and leisure and enhance Delhi’s preparedness for the impact of climate change and to devise methods to tackle pollution.

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Relief Likely For Delhi Gyms As DDA Approves Changes In Master Plan

The Delhi Development Authority on October 9, 2019, proposed a change in the master plan of 2021 under which fitness centres, including gyms and yoga facilities, would be allowed to operate in residential areas. "The Authority approved amendment in the master plan by which fitness centres (including gymnasia, yoga or meditation centres and wellness centres) have been allowed to continue, considering their role in making the Fit India Movement a success," the DDA said in a statement. After the notification, new fitness and wellness centres will only be allowed to operate on ground floors or basements.

Earlier, the DDA said it would offer bank locker facilities in the basements of buildings and make changes in the master plan to accodomate the idea. The development body might also allot land under 'religious category' which could be used to carry out yoga training, religious/spiritual preaching and meditation. This land could also be used to build museums, art galleries, exhibition centres, auditoriums, canteens, restaurants, langar halls and community kitchens.

What else does the national capital’s Master Plan of 2021 envisage?

According to the DDA website, "A master plan is the long-term perspective plan for guiding the sustainable planned development of the city. This lays down the planning guidelines, policies, development code and space requirements for various socio-economic activities supporting the city population during the plan period. It is also the basis for all infrastructure requirements."

It is in this context we would look at the key provisions in the Delhi Master Plan 2021 which would have a major impact on future real estate development in the national capital.

The plan: When the draft was notified in 2005 inviting public views, it had received about 7,000 objections and suggestions while 611 people/organisations were given individual hearings over this. The current form of the plan was approved in 2007 by the Union Urban Development Ministry. The plan will be reviewed after every five years.

On categorisation: There are 18 focus areas — categorised from A to R in the plan — based on which Delhi will be turned into a world-class city. These include land policy, public participation & plan implementation, redevelopment, shelter, housing for the poor, environment, unauthorised colonies, mixed-use development, trade & commerce, informal sector, industry, conservation of heritage, transportation, health infrastructure, educational facilities, disaster management, provision for sports facilities and focus on infrastructure development.

On population accommodation: While forecasting that by 2021 Delhi's population would reach 225 lakh, the master plan says that efforts should be made to keep it below 220 lakh. To house this population, the plan asks for adopting a three-pronged strategy:

— By encouraging people to shift to suburbs

— By expanding city limits

— By increasing the population-holding capacity of existing areas by redeveloping them

On redevelopment: According to the plan, there is a “large proportion of underused land with a number of vacant sites as well as dilapidated built-up areas lying vacant in the city and “many of such areas are owned by the government”. These should to be planned for “redevelopment with higher density” to make optimum use of land resource.

On senior living: Elderly According to the plan, the number of people above the age of 60 is expected to reach over 24 lakh and would account for 10.7 per cent of the total population. The plan wants to make the lives of the elderly easier in the city by providing old-age homes, low-floor buses, special seats in buses, special seats in public toilets and ramps in public buildings.

On different areas: The plan defines the walled city (Shahjahanabad), the walled city and the extension (Pahar Ganj, Sadar Bazar, Roshanara Road and adjoining areas) and Karol Bagh was Special Areas. These areas are "a mix of different land uses and have similarities in compact built form, narrow circulation space and low-rise high-density developments, mainly accommodating residential, commercial - both retail or wholesale and industrial uses". The regulations for developing these areas will be diffrent from other areas of the city.

On PSU offices: According to the plan, no new Central and public sector undertaking offices should be built in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD).

On solid-waste management: According to the plan, the problem of solid waste management in Delhi is assuming "serious proportions" due to an increase in the population, urbanisation, changing lifestyles and consumption patterns. To tackle this problem, it proposes setting up of landfills. "The area required for solid waste disposal through various technologies, including sanitary landfill sites, shall be reserved in the Zonal Plans," says the plan.

On mix-use land policy: To promote non-residential activities in areas meant for housing, the plan envisages a mixed-use policy which would help Delhi use its lands to an optimum level. However, the mixed-use pattern not be permitted in the Lutyens' Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalow Zone, government housing, institutional/ staff housing of public and private agencies and buildings/ precincts listed by the Heritage Conservation Committee.