Experts Urge DDA to Align Infrastructure with MPD 2047 Land Pooling Norms

Urban planning experts in New Delhi on Thursday urged that relaxations given in the Master Plan of Delhi 2047 for land pooling must include a comprehensive framework for civic services and infrastructure development alongside housing.

Under the updated plan, the minimum land area required for developing a sector has been significantly reduced to 20 hectares. Under the earlier framework, the required area ranged between 250 and 300 hectares.

Experts warned that such policy adjustments should not become merely a "land game" for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). They stressed that essential civic amenities and services—such as roads, public transport, water supply, waste management, and sewage treatment plants (STPs)—must be planned and built concurrently with residential housing.

Jagan Shah, former director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs who led the preparation of the draft MPD 2041, noted that while refining policies based on implementation experience is a natural step, critical regulatory safeguards must be enforced.

Shah stated that the key question remains whether adequate regulations are currently in place to guarantee that land use, infrastructure, and basic utilities are developed together. He added that this integration is especially crucial when dealing with unevenly sized sectors, pointing out that a 20-hectare sector and a 100-hectare sector will have vastly different planning and infrastructure requirements.