News: Delhi Master Plan 2047 Unveiled: 30-40 Lakh Homes Planned-20-08-2026
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal on August 20 unveiled Master Plan Delhi 2047, under which 30-40 lakh homes are to be built in the capital, with a primary focus on affordable housing. The 535-page plan was released along with Delhi Lieutenant Governor T S Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and was notified by the MoHUA the same day.
Addressing a press conference, Khattar said Delhi’s population rose from 94 lakh in 1991 to 1.38 crore in 2001 and 2.12 crore in 2021. It is now estimated at around 2.4 crore and is projected to reach 3.2 crore by 2047. The new housing is meant to accommodate an expected increase of 80 lakh people and the spread of nuclear families. Since the city’s land area is fixed at 1,483 square kilometres, he said, the growing population creates immense pressure on space and infrastructure, which makes planned development necessary.
How the housing will come
The plan aims to meet demand through redevelopment and densification of existing neighbourhoods, transit-oriented development (TOD), land pooling and planned expansion into new areas. Housing growth is to be tied to the availability of roads, public transport, water and sewerage. In greenfield areas, expansion will be driven largely by land pooling and other policy-led models. The plan also promotes a mix of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational and public uses.
Transport
Khattar said the metro network will be expanded to 695 km by 2047, and that buses and six new Regional Rapid Transit System corridors will also be developed. The plan envisages high-density mixed-use development under TOD norms within 500 m on either side of existing and planned Metro corridors and within a 500-metre radius of nodes around RRTS, railway and high-speed rail stations. Under TOD, a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) may be allowed near transit corridors so that more people live and work close to mass transit.
Multimodal transit hubs at Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and Kashmiri Gate, a unified parking management system and relaxed FAR for various categories are also part of the plan.
Building norms
For plotted residential housing outside the special zones, the maximum height is 15 metres for plots without stilt parking and 17.5 metres for plots with it. Commercial activity will be allowed on ground floors along roads 30 metres wide in residential areas. Data centres, co-working areas and cloud kitchens fall under a new economies category, the minister said.
The plan also opens the way for high-rise development, potentially permitting buildings of 100-plus floors. It categorises such structures as "tall buildings" and classifies them as "landmark developments".
Khattar said there is a proposal for "24-hour city" zones where operations continue round the clock, with provision for 24-hour transport, particularly Metro connectivity. For low-density areas, plans provide for internal roads 18 metres wide and master trunk roads with a 45-metre Right of Way (ROW), and open space is to be left along plots on both sides of the 15-to-18-metre internal roads to manage congestion.
What the CM and LG said
Gupta said the long-awaited plan will revitalise the city through affordable housing and stronger transport, and aims to make Delhi a world-class, inclusive and economically vibrant city for nearly 3.2 crore people. She called it a vision document and a comprehensive roadmap, and said better coordination between the Central and Delhi governments was giving fresh momentum to development.
She said the planning has taken rising transport-related pollution into account, that housing for all sections of society is a major highlight, and that commercial operations will now be permitted on ground floors of buildings along all 30-metre-wide roads. Development, she added, must also cover education, healthcare, employment, green spaces and public facilities.
On old colonies and slums, Gupta said residents have waited years for a path to redevelopment. Housing for slum settlements will be developed through the PPP model with coordination between the DDA and the Delhi government, and dignified housing for eligible families is a priority.
Sandhu described MPD 2047 as a reformative framework with a long-term vision of a "Viksit Delhi" as part of the journey towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047, and called it a transformative document.
Industry reaction
One expert quoted in the report, who is not named, noted that the draft cleared at the DDA meeting on 12 August 2026 had included the Green Development Area (GDA) policy, under which roughly 69 villages were slated for development combining residential and commercial hubs with green areas, and that this finds no mention in the final gazette. He said TOD is the real value creator, since higher densities along metro and RRTS corridors could change how and where Delhi lives and works. The ambition of roughly 40 lakh additional dwelling units over two decades is the scale of supply the capital needs, he added.
Parveen Jain, president, NAREDCO, called the plan a very positive development that takes a more development-oriented approach, with a focus on infrastructure, efficient land use, investment and quality of life.
Harsh Vardhan Bansal, president, NAREDCO Delhi, said its emphasis on infrastructure-backed planned development, better land utilisation and flexibility on mixed use can create a more conducive environment for developers. With housing, commercial activity, mobility and infrastructure better integrated, he said, the plan can encourage new projects and investment and help create more liveable neighbourhoods.
