70 Delhi villages open for commerce

The Master Plan Delhi-2047 will change development rules at two very different ends of the city, opening the door to regulated commercial activity in around 70 peripheral villages while giving owners of ageing DDA two-storey homes greater redevelopment rights.

The green development area framework covers around 70 villages on Delhi's periphery, including Tikri Kalan, Mitraon, Dhansa, Mehrauli, Chhatarpur and Satbari. According to officials cited in the latest reporting, the framework will allow regulated commercial and institutional activity in areas where such construction was earlier restricted.

Of these villages, 47 were earlier governed by restrictions on new residential and commercial construction, while 23 were not under the same restrictions. The new framework brings them under a common planning approach.

The emphasis will be on vertical rather than unchecked horizontal growth, with higher FAR proposed to accommodate more housing, commercial activity and other uses on existing plots. The DDA is also considering minimum road widths of 12 metres, 18 metres and 30 metres in these areas.

The DDA has also approved a uniform policy for reconstruction and redevelopment of old two-storey dwelling units built by it on individual plots. The policy will apply to older schemes such as Naraina Vihar.

Several such schemes were developed under the MPD-1962, and many of the houses are now more than five decades old and structurally deficient. Under the approved policy, these properties will receive redevelopment rights on par with vacant residential plots.

This could allow owners to rebuild ageing homes instead of remaining tied to housing stock designed for a very different Delhi.