1. Delhi, the focus of the socio-economic and political life of India, a symbol of ancient values and aspirations and capital of the largest democracy, is assuming increasing eminence among the great cities of the world.

Growing at an unprecedented pace, the city needs to be able to integrate its elegant past as well as the modern developments into an organic whole, which demands a purposeful transformation of the socio-economic, natural and built environment. The city will be a prime mover and nerve centre of ideas and actions, the seat of national governance and a centre of business, culture, education and sports.

6. The population of Delhi in 2001 was 138 lakh as against the MPD-2001 projection of 128 lakh. This has had its inevitable implications and impact in terms of shelter, including squatter settlements, and other infrastructure facilities. Some issues that arise for consideration and are also directions for policy include:
i) Review of the scheme of large scale development and acquisition and its relevance in the present context;
ii) Alternative options for development of areas identified for urbanization in MPD- 2021;
iii) Evolving a system under which planning for, and provision of basic infrastructure could take place simultaneously with reference to (i) and (ii) above; and
iv) Involving the private sector in the assembly and development of land and provision of infrastructure services.

7. One of the most important aspects of planned development pertains to the provision of adequate well-planned shelter and housing for the different categories of inhabitants of the city. The quantitative and qualitative shortages and deficiencies in this regard have been observed while formulating the MPD-2021. In turn, this should also be seen in concert with the involvement of the private sector in land assembly and development.

8.Two major challenges which have emerged in the wake of the developments outlined above relate to the phenomenon of unauthorized colonies and squatter / jhuggi jhompri settlements. This reality will have to be dealt with not only in its present manifestation, but also in terms of future growth and proliferation.

9.The exercises done for the MPD-2021 show that there is a need for redevelopment and densification of the existing urban areas and city improvement. This aspect is a major component of the new Master Plan. It calls for a comprehensive redevelopment strategy for accommodating a larger population, strengthening of infrastructure facilities accompanied by creation of more open spaces at the local level by undertaking measures for redevelopment of congested areas.

10.Another important development observed during the period of the last Master Plan is the phenomenal growth of automobiles in Delhi. This has resulted in a variety of problems pertaining to congestion, pollution, safety of travel and parking etc., which need to be addressed.

11.The NCT of Delhi has been divided into 15 Zones from A to H and J to P, of which 8 Zones are in the urban area, one in Riverbed and remaining 6 in the rural area. So far, Zonal Plans in respect of 11 zones (including sub cities of Dwaraka, Rohini and Narela) have been notified with the approval of the Government of India. It is pertinent to finalise the Zonal Plans for all the planning zones within a year from the date of notification of the MPD-2021.

12.The experience of the past two Master Plans shows that projections regarding various basic infrastructure services have been made with reference to the population growth projections and the increased urbanization requirements. However, the infrastructure provisions especially those related to water and power have not matched the pace of development.

14. The Ministry of Urban development issued guidelines in 2003 for the preparation of the MPD 2021 which inter alia emphasised the need to explore alternate methods of land assembly, private sector participation, and flexible land use and development norms. The Authority also had the benefit of the reports of 12 study groups set up with experts and stakeholders on various aspects such as shelter, demography, conservation, transportation, industry, environment, mixed use, infrastructure, trade and commerce etc. Details of the study groups are given in Annexure-V. Five seminars were organised on various aspects involving experts in the field, representatives of GNCTD and local bodies and NGOs.

15. The DDA has also made presentations on the draft MPD 2021 before various forums including the Consultative Committee of Parliament, Lt Governor, Delhi, Chief Minister Delhi and the Cabinet of GNCTD and the Group of Ministers set up by the Central Government. The Draft MPD 2021 was also discussed at length in the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi and the suggestions made by the members were considered and forwarded by the Delhi cabinet to the Authority and the Ministry of Urban Development for its consideration. A large number of representations received in the Ministry of Urban Development from various interest groups such as lawyer, doctors, Chartered Accountants, traders, residents, etc were also considered. Personal interaction with various interest groups as well as elected representatives including Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative assembly, Municipal Councillors were held by the Minister and Minister of state for Urban development at various points in time.

16. The Draft Master Plan was notified for inviting public objections / suggestions through Gazette Notification dated 16.03.2005 and public notice in newspapers on 08.04.2005. In response, about 7000 objections / suggestions were received, which were considered by the Board of Enquiry which met on 17 occasions and also afforded personal hearing to about 611 persons / organizations. The Authority considered the revised draft MPD 2021 along with the report of the Board of Enquiry in three sittings held on 29.12.2006, 4.1.2007 and 19.1.2007 before it was sent to the Ministry of Urban Development for approval. The Ministry of Urban development considered the proposal in the light of the inputs received from DDA and from various quarters and finally approved the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 in the present form.

17. The success of Master Plan depends on conversion of the policies and strategies outlined in it into time bound development and action plans, periodic reviews and close monitoring, besides the people's will and willingness to adhere to discipline in the use of land, roads, public space and infrastructure. Any issue arising from interpretation of the provisions of this Master Plan will be settled by DDA in consultation if required with Central Government.

18. The Master Plan incorporates several innovations for the development of the National Capital. A critical reform has been envisaged in the prevailing land policy and facilitating public - private partnerships. Together with planned development of new areas, a major focus has been on incentivising the recycling of old, dilapidated areas for their rejuvenation. The Plan contemplates a mechanism for the restructuring of the city based on mass transport. The Perspective Plans of physical infrastructure prepared by the concerned service agencies should help in better coordination and augmentation of the services.

19. The Master Plan envisages vision and policy guidelines for the perspective period upto 2021. It is proposed that the Plan be reviewed at five yearly intervals to keep pace with the fast changing requirements of the society.

20. The following critical areas have been the focal points of the Plan:
(a) Land Policy:

          The land policy would be based on the optimum utilisation of available resources, both, public and private in land assembly, development and housing.

(b) Public Participation and Plan Implementation:

•  Decentralised local area planning by participatory approach;
  
•  Performance oriented planning and development, with focus on implementation and monitoring.

(c) Redevelopment:

•   Planned Areas: Influence Zone along MRTS and Major Transport Corridor; underutilised / low-density areas; Special Area; shopping / commercial centres; Industrial areas / clusters   and resettlement colonies.
•   Unplanned Areas: Villages; unauthorised colonies and JJ Clusters.

•  Shift from plotted housing to group housing for optimal utilization of land;
•  Private sector participation for development / redevelopment of housing;
•  Removing unnecessary controls (like height) for optimum utilization of land and to facilitate creation of 'signature' projects.
•  Enhancement of ground coverage, FAR and height for all categories of residential plots.

•  In-situ slum rehabilitation, including using land as a resource for private sector participation;
•  In order to prevent growth of slums, mandatory provision of EWS housing / slum rehabilitation in all group housing to the extent of 15% of permissible FAR or 35% of dwelling units on the plot, whichever is higher.
•  Housing for urban poor to the extent of 50-55% of total;
•  Recategorisation of housing types, development control norms and differential densities to make EWS /LIG housing viable and economical.

•  Special emphasis on conservation of the Ridge.
•  Rejuvenation of River Yamuna through a number of measures including ensuring adequate flow in river by release of water by riparian states, refurbishment of trunk sewers, treatment of drains, sewering of unsewered areas, treatment of industrial affluent, recycling of treated effluent and removal of coliforms at STPs.
•  Provision of lung spaces / recreational areas and green belt to the extent of 15 to 20% of land use.
•  Multipurpose grounds: A special category for marriages / public functions.

Unauthorised colonies, which are to be regularised as per government policy, should be effectively incorporated in the mainstream of urban development. This requires provision of infrastructure development, services and facilities for which differential norms and procedures have been devised.

•  To meet the growing demand of commercial activities and overcome the shortfall of available commercial space, a liberalized provision of Mixed Use in residential areas has been adopted adhering to the requisites of the environment, while achieving better synergy between workplace, residence and transportation.
•  2183 streets have been notified by the GNCTD vide notification dated 15.09.06 for local commercial and mixed-use activities.
•  Small shops of daily needs have been permitted on ground floor, in residential areas.

•  District & Community Centres are proposed to be developed as facility corridors along major transport networks to prevent unintended and unplanned ribbon development and for better synergy between public transport and work centres.
•  Development of Integrated Freight Complexes / Wholesale Markets at the urban periphery.
•  Mandatory provisions for service and repair activities.
•  Informal shops, weekly markets, handicrafts bazaars, used books / furniture / building materials bazaars to be developed.
•  Enhancement of FAR.

•  The informal and organised sector is a major source of employment in the economic fabric of the city for which the following approach is proposed:
•  Earmarking of 'Hawking' and 'No Hawking' Zones at neighbourhood and cluster levels.
•  The weekly markets to be identified and planned / developed.
•  New areas for informal trade to be developed and integrated with housing, commercial, institutional and industrial areas.
•  Provision of common basic services like toilets, water points, etc.
•  Institutionalizing designs of stalls, push-carts and mobile vans.
•  Involvement of NGOs envisaged.

•  Environment as a major concern and listing of prohibited industries.
•  Modernisation / up-gradation of existing industries including non-conforming industrial centres.
•  Special provisions for service and repair centres.
•  Inclusion of new activities like IT industry, etc.
•  Enhancement of FAR.

•  Identification of heritage zones and archaeological parks.
•  Development of Special Conservation plans for listed buildings and precincts.

•  The proposals include the following:
•  Unified Metro Transport Authority
•  Synergy between landuse and transport
•  A new parking policy including private sector development of parking facilities, increase in norms for parking space, multi level parking and under ground parking.
•  Integrated multimodal public transport system to reduce dependence on personalised vehicles.
•  Road and rail based mass transport system to be a major mode of public transport, optimal use of existing road network and development of missing links.
•  Restructuring of existing network through expressways, elevated roads, arterial roads, distributor roads and relief roads.
•  Provision for introducing cycle tracks, pedestrian and disabled friendly features in arterial and sub-arterial roads.

•  Health facilities proposed to achieve norms of 5 beds / 1000 population
•  Enhancement of FAR for hospitals and other health facilities.
•  Nursing Homes, clinics etc. also allowed under relaxed Mixed Use norms.

•  Rationalisation of planning norms with enhanced floor area.
•  Locating new school sites adjacent to parks / playgrounds.
•  Provision for vocational and other educational facilities.
•  Schools and training centres for mentally / physically challenged with differential development norms.

•  Disaster Management centre provided in each administrative zone.
•  Building regulations for safety of structures as per seismic zone.
•  Land Use zoning as per microzonation.

•  Provisions for sports infrastructure for local, national and international events.
•  Incentives provided for sports facilities and swimming pools in schools, clubs and group housing.

•  Perspective Plans for Water, Power, Drainage & Solid Waste Management of Service Agencies part of MPD-2021. Alternative Sources of energy and new technology. The Plan gives emphasis on energy conservation, efficiency and exploring alternative sources of energy.
•  Realistic standards of water supply for equitable distribution.