Unauthorised colonies and unplanned areas in Delhi under MPD-2047

What the chapter covers

MPD-2047 deals with Delhi's unplanned settlements in a chapter separate from the regeneration of planned areas, on the reasoning that the ground realities are different — issues of land ownership, high densities and existing built form require their own norms rather than conventional planning standards.

The Plan describes these areas as characterised by poor condition of buildings, inadequate physical and social infrastructure, and poor accessibility particularly during emergencies — while also recognising that many have emerged as high-density mixed-use areas providing affordable options for housing and economic activities. The stated need is to improve safety standards, infrastructure and quality of life through regularisation and regeneration.

Five categories fall within the chapter:

• Unauthorised Colonies approved by government for regularisation
• Slums and JJ clusters
• Urban Villages, including notified Lal Dora and notified extended Lal Dora areas
• Non-conforming industrial areas
• Non-conforming godowns

The provisions do not apply to unplanned areas falling in environmentally sensitive areas, Zone 'O', areas regulated by NMA or ASI, the Civil Lines Bungalow Area or Lutyens' Bungalow Zone — regeneration in those is to follow the applicable guidelines of the concerned agencies.

Two separate things: regularisation and regeneration

This distinction causes more confusion than anything else in the chapter, so it is worth stating plainly.

MPD-2047 states directly that the conferment of ownership or transfer and mortgage rights to residents of unauthorised colonies is given as per the 2019 Regulations — the framework generally known as PM-UDAY. The Plan does not regularise anything itself.

What it adds is the second column: for colonies already covered under those regulations, a route to rebuild the area in a planned way, with infrastructure, access, public space and amenities — rather than leaving regularised colonies frozen in their existing built form.

UC Regeneration Schemes — the basics

The Plan sets out the framework for regeneration of unauthorised colonies and parts of them covered under the 2019 Regulations, except the exclusions listed in those regulations.

• Who prepares it. A Developer Entity, or RWAs, or an authorised lead of a group representing part unauthorised colonies or clusters of them, through a legally enforceable agreement.
• Minimum scheme area. 2,000 sqm.
• Layout and Services Plan. The applicant prepares it in consultation with the concerned authority, for approval.
• Two-stage approval. First, approval of the Layout Plan for the UC Regeneration Area — for an entire colony, part of one, or a cluster. Then individual approvals and sanctions for building plans as per UBBL provisions.
• Amalgamation. Permitted for developing group housing, with a minimum amalgamated plot size of 2,000 sqm.
• Clusters. Two or more adjoining colonies or parts of them may be brought under a single UC Regeneration Area, identified on ground by physical features such as roads and drains, provided connectivity and basic services remain available and network continuity is maintained to adjoining colonies.
• Land use. The land use of the Regeneration Scheme area shall be Residential.
• Shape. UC Regeneration Areas shall maintain a regular shape and boundary to the extent possible.
• EWS exemption. UC Regeneration Areas are expressly exempted from the provision of EWS housing.

Including land from outside the colony

A UC Regeneration Area may include contiguous additional area not notified as a UC, outside the colony boundary, where landowners on both sides agree to plan in an integrated manner — capped at 25% of the area of the identified UC. The FAR and ground coverage applicable to that additional area follow its own existing land use rather than the UC Regeneration norms, though the setback requirements do apply to it.

Public areas within the scheme

For Level 3 and Level 4 schemes, public areas such as roads, open spaces and drains may be included for integrated planning. Area under public facilities is not counted for computation of permissible FAR and ground coverage. Such areas may be reconfigured, provided that:

• The area provided for roads, streets, parks and drains is equal to or more than the area under such existing features within the scheme
• An equivalent area of any government land included is retained, and an NOC is obtained from the concerned land owning agency
• Public areas such as parks and roads are handed over to the concerned public agency and kept open to the public at all times

The four levels

Norms for amenities, setbacks and open spaces scale with the size of the scheme. The Plan defines four levels:

The Amenities FAR carries a condition on use: at Levels 1 and 2, secondary schools and city-level facilities are not permitted. At Levels 3 and 4, all PSP uses are permitted, with separate entry and exit to be provided for city-level facilities.

The Plan also provides that in Level 4 schemes, implementation may be permitted for smaller blocks of minimum 3,000 sqm area after approval of the overall scheme — which allows a large scheme to be phased rather than requiring the whole area to be rebuilt at once. In practice that is what makes a Level 4 scheme financeable.

FAR 350 plus amenities FAR

The charges mechanism deserves note. Regeneration and infrastructure charges are to be deposited after approval of the Regeneration Scheme, and are to be ring-fenced through an escrow account for a dedicated Regeneration Fund. That structure — money collected from a scheme held separately for improvement works — is a meaningful governance provision, and one that residents' associations should understand before agreeing terms with any developer.

Ground coverage, setbacks, public space, parking

Setbacks under a UC Regeneration Scheme are set by reference to the Right of Way of the abutting road, rather than by plot size:

The Plan is explicit about why: these setbacks shall be utilised for widening or development of roads to fulfil the access conditions for neighbouring colonies, and shall be kept hindrance-free at all times and made available for road widening or construction as and when required. The narrower the existing lane, the more land the scheme gives back — which is how the chapter unlocks access across a whole area rather than one plot at a time.

Other norms

• Parking — 1 Equivalent Car Space per 100 sqm, irrespective of use premises.
• Public space — must have access from a minimum 9 m Right of Way and shall be transferred to the local body, which may use it for parks, plazas or utilities.
• Land for PSP facilities — to be provided as one consolidated land parcel with access from a minimum 9 m Right of Way, and handed over to the local body, which may use it for schools or multi-facility centres including healthcare facilities, community halls, Basti Vikas Kendras, police posts and child-care centres.
• Fire safety — the Plan requires adequate fire safety infrastructure through strategically located public fire hydrants and modernisation of firefighting systems by the local body, with households equipped with functional fire extinguishers and smoke or fire alarms encouraged.

Access and road conditions

Access is where most schemes will succeed or fail, and the Plan's conditions here are notably more achievable than those applying elsewhere in the framework.

• Direct access should be from a minimum 9 m Right of Way, subject to meeting parking requirements within the plot.
• Where that is not available, a road of 9 m RoW may be provided on at least one side of the proposed layout plan, with the land required for it shared on a pro-rata basis.
• That road must connect to an existing road of minimum 12 m RoW.

Compare this with the Low Density Area, where every use premise requires an 18 m abutting Right of Way. The 9 m and 12 m figures here reflect the reality of how unauthorised colonies are actually built, and the pro-rata sharing mechanism spreads the cost of creating access rather than placing it on whichever owner happens to front the lane.

Urban villages and Lal Dora

Urban villages — the original village abadis including notified Lal Dora and extended Lal Dora areas — are handled through a distinct mechanism.

The Plan describes them as among the oldest inhabited settlements of Delhi, evolved organically over decades, retaining a unique socio-cultural identity while functioning as important residential and economic centres supporting traditional occupations alongside commercial, service, retail, hospitality, warehousing and home-based activity. It notes that rising population, changing livelihoods and land values have driven rapid densification, vertical redevelopment and plot subdivision without corresponding infrastructure. It also records that many contain heritage buildings, historic water bodies, temples, mosques, havelis and orchards requiring conservation through area-based regeneration.

The stated planning approach is to recognise existing development patterns and provide flexible planning norms to facilitate planned redevelopment, rather than imposing conventional planning standards that are difficult to implement.

Area Improvement Plans

• Regeneration is to be undertaken through Area Improvement Plans prepared by the concerned local body in consultation with residents, RWAs and other stakeholders.
• A plan may cover the entire village or a defined regeneration precinct bounded by public roads, parks, railway corridors, drains or natural features.
• It must include a Road Network Plan indicating all roads to be widened to a minimum 7.5 m Right of Way to address congestion. Plots abutting such roads shall mandatorily provide land for road widening at the time of reconstruction, and will be permitted to utilise the FAR on the remaining plot.
• It must identify Gram Sabha lands within the village available for local-level PSP and socio-cultural facilities, and communities are to identify community-held or shared lands for common parking, public spaces, utilities and local recycling areas.

Note the trigger for road surrender: at the time of reconstruction. An existing structure is not required to give up land; the obligation attaches when the plot is rebuilt.

Slums and JJ clusters

Slums and Jhuggi Jhopri clusters are covered as a category within the unplanned areas chapter, alongside unauthorised colonies and urban villages. The Plan's general position for unplanned areas — that norms must take account of ground realities including land ownership, high densities and existing built form, and that regulations for regeneration of unplanned areas shall be prepared after notification of the Plan where required — applies here.

Because the provisions for this category interact closely with rehabilitation policy, land-owning agency requirements and in-situ development frameworks that sit outside the Master Plan, anyone assessing a specific cluster should treat the Plan as one input among several and confirm the position with the concerned agencies.

Frequently asked questions