DDA Approves Master Plan 2047 to Bridge 4 Million Housing Gap in Delhi
The Delhi Development Authority approved the Master Plan for Delhi-2047 on Wednesday, setting out a strategy to bridge an estimated housing gap of nearly 4 million homes by 2047, when the city's population is projected to reach 32 million.
According to the draft plan, Delhi will require approximately 7.11 million dwelling units by 2047, calculated on an average household size of 4.5 people. With Delhi recording 3.1 million residential houses in the 2011 Census, the plan calculates a deficit of about 4 million units after accounting for population growth, existing backlogs, vacant stock, and the replacement of obsolete housing.
To address this shortage, MPD-2047 outlines a three-pronged approach comprising the creation of new housing stock, the regeneration and upgrading of existing neighbourhoods, and the expansion of affordable rental housing.
The first component focuses on large-scale construction in areas that are not yet fully urbanised. This includes land-pooling zones, transit-oriented development areas, high-density highway corridors, and designated low-density areas. The plan estimates that land-pooling and transit-oriented development zones alone could yield around 3 million dwelling units. An official noted that increasing the permissible floor area ratio would encourage vertical growth and help replace ageing infrastructure.
The second component involves upgrading older and unplanned settlements. Unauthorised colonies are slated for infrastructural upgrades, improved connectivity, and the provision of public amenities to ensure access for emergency vehicles and services. For slums and JJ clusters, the plan prioritises in-situ rehabilitation for notified settlements to minimise resident displacement.
The third aspect targets rental housing to accommodate students, single working professionals, migrants, and seasonal workers. The plan proposes Affordable Rental Housing Complexes on public and private land, small-format housing ranging between 25 and 60 square metres, hostels, and worker dormitories, alongside converting vacant public housing into rental units.
