DDA will hold public hearings from Oct 18 to finalise master plan 2041

DDA officials said to ensure that people don’t face any problems during the public hearings, the suggestions/objections have been divided based on the chapters in the new master plan

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will start holding public consultations for finalising the Master Plan of Delhi 2041 from October 18, officials said Wednesday. The land-owning agency said the entire process will be online and it has already received over 33,000 comments/feedback on the draft master plan.

The land-owning agency plans to notify MPD 2041, the vision document for city’s development over the next two decades, by end-December. (HT Archive)

“We will put the schedule for public hearings on our website. We will also inform individuals, who gave their suggestions/comments to the master plan, through email about the public hearing dates,” said a senior DDA official, asking not to be named.

DDA officials said to ensure that people don’t face any problems during the public hearings, the suggestions/objections have been divided based on the chapters in the new master plan.

“Issues have been clubbed topic-wise so that we can hear the views of all people. We held public consultations online last year — when the master plan was being prepared — to get the people’s perspective. This year, we held online consultations after the MPD 2041 was put in the public domain to clarify people’s doubts related to the new plan,” said the official quoted above.

The land-owning agency plans to notify MPD 2041, the vision document for city’s development over the next two decades, by end-December. The process was delayed due to the pandemic, as the land-owning agency had to extend the last date for submission of public suggestions/objections by a month following a demand for an extension from the public. While it received over 12,000 comments on its portal, a large number of people submitted their comments manually, the DDA said.

Explaining the process, a senior official said based on people’s input during the public hearing, the MPD 2041 will be finalised. It will then be tabled in the DDA meeting. Once approved, it will be sent to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs for notification.

The MPD 2041 focuses on regeneration of old areas (unauthorised colonies, urbanised villages), allowing mixed use development, providing affordable rental housing and small format housing, promoting walkability and non-motorised transport, and developing green-blue (green spaces and waterfronts) infrastructure and corridors, among others, for the sustainable development of the city.

This time, the land-owning agency has introduced new concepts and proposals to make Delhi a 24X7 city by promoting night time economy and nightlife; increasing economic activities; allowing mixed development, especially in industrial areas; and ensuring planned development of urban extensions, among others.