Decks cleared for transit development along five metro stations in Delhi

The policy, which was approved in a DDA meeting chaired by Delhi’s lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, will now be sent to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for notification.

Paving the way for densification along metro corridors, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday approved the much-delayed Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy.

DDA officials say the metro stations around which the projects will be developed have been selected based on high footfall. (HT FILE)

The policy, which was approved in a DDA meeting chaired by Delhi’s lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, will now be sent to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for notification.

The land-owning agency has decided to keep the floor area ratio (FAR) variable in the development zones.

DDA officials say the metro stations around which the projects will be developed have been selected based on high footfall.

The DDA had approved the TOD policy in 2015 but in 2017, the union ministry had asked the National institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) to review it. In the previous policy, TOD was proposed along transit corridors (metro corridors or mass rapid transit system).

But, in the new policy, development has been proposed along Metro stations (transit node) with high footfall.

In the first phase, DDA plans to develop five pilot projects around the Dwarka Sector 18, Dwarka Sector 21, Mayur Vihar Extension, Mukundpur, Sarojini Nagar and INA (combined) metro stations.

Elaborating on the development plans around the transit nodes, DDA vice-chairman Tarun Kapoor said, “A metro station will be selected for TOD based on certain criteria such as availability of land, footfall at the station, etc. There should be a minimum of eight hectares of developable area available around a metro station for the policy to be implemented.”

A senior DDA official said the floor area ratio will be based on the traffic situation of the area. “The FAR will vary from place to place. We will get a detailed study done of the area, including the traffic scenario, selected for TOD for finalising FAR,” said a senior DDA official.

The officer added, “FAR around the transit nodes will be higher than FAR in rest of the city. The main idea is to develop these areas as high-density hubs with special focus on walkability and cycling facilities.”

The TOD development will promote mixed land use.

“A minimum component of 30% of overall FAR shall be mandatory for residential use. There will be FAR of 15% over and above the proposed FAR for providing housing to economically weaker sections.”