The Central Government and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) have taken a revolutionary step for the millions of poor and middle class families who have been living in slums (JJ Clusters) for years in the country's capital Delhi. In the 'Master Plan for Delhi 2047 – MPD-2047' unveiled by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, a detailed roadmap has been prepared to provide permanent flats with modern amenities to more than 17 lakh slum dwellers of the capital in their own areas.
The basic mantra of this master plan is 'Where there is a slum, there is a house' (In-situ Slum Rehabilitation). What this simply means is that instead of displacing the slum dwellers to a desolate outskirts 30-40 kilometers away from the city, they will be given permanent houses with ownership rights by building multi-storey modern residential societies on the same land where they have been living for decades. To implement this scheme at a faster pace, the government has completely redesigned the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, in which the country's big and reputed private real estate developers will directly carry out the construction work.
Until now, the pace of in-situ slum redevelopment was quite slow, as private builders saw limited commercial benefits in it. But in the Master Plan 2047, the government has made sweeping changes in policies and announced huge discounts and attractive incentives for private developers:
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Floor Area Ratio (FAR) increased to 500: While in the old master plan the FAR was 400 for the residential portion and 300 for the commercial, now it has been increased to a record 500 for both the components. By getting higher FAR, builders will be able to construct high-rise residential and commercial buildings with 15 to 20 storeys on limited land.
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60% discount on commercial sale of land: Under the revised policy, free flats will be built for slum dwellers on at least 40% of the total slum plot. On the remaining 60% land, private builders will be able to build luxury flats, shopping complexes, corporate offices or retail outlets and sell them in the open market. This 'free-sale' component will enable builders to earn huge profits, due to which they are taking interest in slum rehabilitation.
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Plot area limit reduced: The minimum land requirement for group housing and slum redevelopment has been made flexible by reducing it to 2,000 to 3,000 square metres, which will enable cluster-based redevelopment of even small settlements.
Historic amendments have been made in the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) Act and the Delhi Slum Rehabilitation Policy 2026 regarding the scope of the scheme. Earlier the cut-off date of January 1, 2015 was applicable, but now it has been extended by 10 years. 1 January 2025 Has been done.
New standards of eligibility after this change:
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Whatever slum or kutcha dwelling was present in the notified JJ Cluster of Delhi on or before January 1, 2025, that family will be considered as legally entitled to a pucca flat under this in-situ scheme.
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The head of the family should have valid local residence certificate like Aadhar Card, Voter ID Card, Ration Card, Electricity Bill or Bank Passbook.
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Digital data of all eligible beneficiaries is being prepared by DDA and DUSIB through drone survey and biometric mapping, so that there is no scope for any kind of fraud in the allocation.
The in-situ flats to be built under the Master Plan 2047 will not be mere brick-and-mortar rooms, but will be equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure on the lines of a gated society:
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24×7 piped drinking water and underground sewerage: Every flat will have individual tap connection, modern modular toilet and 24-hour electricity-water supply.
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Lift and fire safety: Automatic lifts, emergency power backup and modern fire fighting systems will be installed in all high-rise towers.
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Social Infrastructure: Primary health center (Dispensary), government school, Anganwadi center, community hall and park for senior citizens will be developed within the complex.
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Green Energy and Solar Rooftop: Solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems have been made mandatory on the rooftops of the societies, so that the electricity cost in the common areas can be reduced to zero.
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Roads and commercial facilities: Permission will be given to open shops on the ground floor on 30 meter wide roads, so that local residents will be able to get employment and shopping facilities nearby.
This in-situ model has already been successfully tested by DDA in Delhi. 3,024 flats in Kalkaji and 1,675 multi-storey flats in Jailerwala Bagh in Ashok Vihar have already been constructed and handed over to slum dwellers, while the Kathputli Colony Redevelopment Project is in its final stages under the PPP model.
Following the instructions of the Union Home Ministry and the Lieutenant Governor, in the first phase, tenders for 5 major JJ clusters are being issued and DPR for the next 50 sensitive clusters has been prepared. Around 750 slum clusters in Delhi are targeted to be converted into modern multi-storey residential complexes in the next few years in a phased manner. Where on-site construction is not possible due to geographical reasons, people will be shifted to nearby EWS vacant houses.
Master Plan 2047 is not limited to just slum rehabilitation, rather it is an ambitious vision of providing systematic shelter to Delhi's estimated population of 3.2 crore by the year 2047.
Key points of the master plan:
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Total 40 lakh new houses: A total of 40 lakh affordable and modern houses will be built in Delhi, of which 18 lakh houses will be developed in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zones near the Metro corridor.
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Regularization of 1,511 unauthorized colonies: 45 lakh residents will get ownership rights and basic facilities on 'As is where is' basis.
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Affordable Rental Housing: Affordable rental houses will be built with 50% FAR incentive for migrant workers, students and youth.
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Last-Mile Connectivity: Namo Bharat (RRTS), an integrated network of over 400 km long metro network, electric buses and cycle tracks is being built to reduce dependence on private vehicles.
This modified PPP model of 'Where there is a slum, there is a house' is going to prove to be the biggest game changer in the direction of making Delhi slum-free and a world-class, clean and inclusive capital.