Delhi CM seeks Rs 100 crore from Centre to fast-track property rights for unauthorised colonies

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has written to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal requesting Rs 100 crore from the Centre to accelerate the implementation of the PM-UDAY scheme. The scheme aims to grant ownership rights to residents of 1,511 notified unauthorised colonies in the national capital, covering around 45 lakh people.

In April 2025, the Union government announced a simplified procedure for granting ownership rights on an 'as-is-where-is basis', removing the requirement for an approved layout plan. The Delhi government's Revenue Department has been made the nodal agency for the scheme, which will set up PM-UDAY cells in all 13 districts, each headed by an Additional District Magistrate.

The funds requested will be used for three components: a technology-based land survey and mapping system (Rs 65 crore), the establishment of district-level PM-UDAY cells (Rs 25 crore), and a public awareness campaign (Rs 10 crore). The mapping system, called DRISHTI, will facilitate survey and mapping. The district cells are intended to issue property documents within a 45-day timeline. The awareness campaign will include workshops with Resident Welfare Associations, help desks, and camps.

In her letter, Gupta requested that the Rs 100 crore be approved under the Urban Development Fund (UDF). She wrote, 'The institutional framework required for implementing the scheme has already been notified and the work has commenced. Timely financial support from the Central Government will help ensure that lakhs of Delhi residents receive the benefits of property rights at the earliest and with greater ease.'

The PM-UDAY scheme was initially launched by the central government ahead of the 2020 Delhi elections, with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as the nodal agency. However, uptake was slow; by March 31, 2026, only around 40,000 conveyance deeds and authorisation slips had been issued. A key issue was that residents could not get building plans approved or regularise existing structures due to the absence of approved layout plans, which were to be prepared by RWAs and approved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

In July 2025, the government set October 31, 2025 as the last date for applications under the scheme, citing low numbers. The new regulations notified in April 2025 sought to address these issues by regularising colonies on an 'as-is, where-is' basis, treating all plots and buildings as residential, and making the Delhi government's Revenue Department the nodal agency again.

Experts have noted potential pitfalls in the regularisation process. Under the previous policy, residents could obtain ownership by submitting documents to DDA, but regularisation required MCD approval of layout plans that included provisions for improving services like water supply, sewage, solid waste management, and overhead electric cables.