DDA clears Master Plan for Delhi-2047, sets 25-year vision for capital's growth

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Wednesday approved the Master Plan for Delhi-2047, extending the planning horizon from 2041 to 2047. The earlier plan had been pending with the central government for more than three years.

The plan was approved at a DDA meeting chaired by Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who also serves as the chairperson of the authority. According to an official statement, the document will now be sent to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for final approval and notification.

In a social media post, the L-G said the plan would align Delhi's long-term development with the Centre's 'Viksit Bharat@2047' vision. The meeting also discussed a road map for sustainable and inclusive urban growth, alongside measures to improve ease of doing business and ease of living.

The approval comes after the earlier Master Plan for Delhi-2041 was cleared by the DDA on February 28, 2023, and sent to the ministry in April that year for notification. It subsequently missed several deadlines, including a 100-day target set after the Narendra Modi government began its third term.

The new plan is expected to shape Delhi's expansion, housing, mobility and environmental management over the next two decades. The DDA said it takes an integrated approach to housing, economic growth, transport, infrastructure, environmental sustainability, heritage conservation and urban regeneration.

Delhi's previous master plan, MPD-2021, also faced prolonged delays and was finally notified in 2007, seven years after the intended planning horizon began.

Several components linked to the city's long-term development have already been taken up separately while the full master plan remained pending. The Centre notified a new transit-oriented development policy in April, allowing higher-density construction around metro corridors. The government has also decided to regularise 1,511 unauthorised colonies on an 'as-is-where-is' basis.

The 2047 plan will address long-standing planning challenges, including the proposed land pooling policy in outer Delhi, the Green Development Area policy, and the future of unauthorised colonies in the Yamuna O-Zone, officials said. The O-Zone, an ecologically sensitive floodplain, is home to more than five lakh residents living in unauthorised colonies.

In May, the Delhi High Court held that residential colonies could not legally exist in the area, adding another layer of complexity to how these settlements will be dealt with under the city's long-term planning framework.

The DDA said the Master Plan 2047 takes into account the projected growth in Delhi's population and seeks to provide a framework for housing, infrastructure, mobility and environmental management as the capital expands towards 2047.

In a separate decision, the DDA approved amendments to the Unified Building Bye-Laws (UBBL), 2016, aimed at reducing the number of prior clearances required for building permits. Under the changes, applicants will no longer need separate no-objection certificates from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Chief Inspector of Factories, Delhi Jal Board and the Forest Department as a precondition for obtaining building permits.

A senior official explained that applicants will self-certify through the portal, and an independent third-party auditor — an architect empanelled with the government authority — will approve the proposal after verifying compliance with rules such as floor area ratio and other criteria.

The DDA also approved a policy allowing reconstruction and redevelopment of DDA-built two-storey dwelling units on individual plots in older housing schemes, a move expected to benefit residents in such colonies.