Manohar Lal Khattar unveils ‘Master Plan for Delhi – 2047’

For a city that has spent years waiting for its next Master Plan, Delhi on Thursday got a blueprint that seeks to reshape not just where people live, but how they travel, work, walk and use public spaces.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar unveiled the notified Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) - 2047 in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The plan, which comes into force from the date of its publication in the gazette, projects a Delhi of nearly 3.2 crore people by 2047 and sets out a long-term framework for housing, transport, infrastructure, environment and economic growth.

For residents, one of its biggest challenges is housing. The plan estimates a requirement of about 40 lakh additional houses by 2047. With Delhi’s land area limited, it proposes meeting the demand through redevelopment and densification of existing neighbourhoods as well as planned expansion in greenfield areas. Older residential buildings, underused plots and low-density areas with existing infrastructure are identified for redevelopment. New areas are to be developed through land pooling and other planned models.

The plan also seeks to change how new neighbourhoods come up. Roads, public transport, water supply, sewerage, drainage, electricity and digital connectivity are to form the basis of infrastructure-led development.

For residents of unauthorised colonies, the plan provides for their improvement, regularisation and redevelopment, with better infrastructure, connectivity and public facilities. It also provides for in situ rehabilitation of eligible JJ clusters, subject to planning and statutory conditions.

Transport is another major part of the document. Delhi’s existing Metro network is around 416 km and the plan envisages its expansion by another 279 km. But it links transport expansion with land use through transit-oriented development. Around 200 sq km has been identified for such development around Metro and other mass transit corridors, with homes, offices, shops and public facilities planned closer to stations.

The plan also seeks to reduce the dominance of private vehicles by promoting walking, cycling and public transport, and by introducing more structured parking management.

Beyond mobility and housing, the plan identifies a 138-hectare education hub in Narela, bringing together universities, research institutions, skill development institutions and start-ups.

The Yamuna gets one of the most extensive environmental frameworks. The plan proposes ecological restoration along the 22-km Wazirabad to Okhla stretch, 13 major projects covering about 1,700 hectares of floodplain, restoration of wetlands and a 200-km Ridge Yamuna Park Connector, including 52 km along the floodplain. It also proposes treatment of the 22 drains discharging into the river.

The plan further envisages selected 24-hour city zones, alongside stronger digital planning and monitoring.

Crucially, MPD-2047 provides for on-ground monitoring and a detailed review every five years, with a dedicated monitoring mechanism within the DDA.

The new plan, therefore, sets out a very different Delhi on paper, with more housing, denser transit-linked neighbourhoods, greater pedestrian access, new economic and education centres and a wider ecological network.

The real test now is implementation. The plan sets the direction, but its success will depend on how the multiple agencies responsible for Delhi’s development translate those provisions into changes that residents can actually see on the ground.