DDA drafts norms for planned development in unauthorised colonies

The DDA has proposed two approaches for planned development: a regeneration scheme and regularisation of existing areas.

A year after the Centre notified a policy to give ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has drafted norms for planned development in these areas. The new norms have provision for the amalgamation of plot, creating social infrastructure and redevelopment of colonies.

A view of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats at Narela in New Delhi. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

The norms were approved by the land-owning agency in a meeting, which was chaired by Delhi’s lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, in December end. A senior DDA official said that the rules will soon be put in public domain for suggestions/objections, after which it will be sent to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs for notification and added in the Master Plan of Delhi-2021.

The DDA, along with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), is working on a new master plan (MPD-2041), which is the vision document for planned development of the city for the next 20 years.

In 2019, the Centre had passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Act, 2019, to confer ownership rights to residents living in 1,731 unauthorised colonies in the national capital. Under PM-UDAY (Pradhan Mantri- Unauthorized Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana), DDA has been giving ownership rights to property owners living in these colonies.

A senior DDA official said, “The development control norms for unauthorised colonies is part of the NCT Regulations 2019. It is for the first time detailed norms have been prepared for unauthorised colonies. Now that they are getting the legal tag, there is a need to have norms for planned development/redevelopment in these areas.”

The DDA has proposed two approaches for planned development: a regeneration scheme and regularisation of existing areas.

DDA officials say that regeneration or redevelopment schemes will help residents. “Amalgamation of plots will be permitted. The minimum area required for availing the benefits under the scheme is 2000 sqm. For this, residents have to pool land and form a developer entity and submit a regeneration scheme to local authorities for approval,” said the official.

The second option provided by DDA is for the regularisation of existing colonies wherein people can get the layout plans prepared and get individual building plans approved by the DDA. “The unauthorised colonies will have to meet certain planning requirements such as having access for fire-tenders, open space for evacuation for effective disaster management, structural safety of buildings at plot level, provision for social facilities like healthcare and education facilities nearby etc,” said the official.

The developer entity or the RWA or the plot owner will have to pay for civic infrastructure development charges (sewer, water) to the service providing agency.

Residents of unauthorised colonies say that the most important thing right now is ownership rights. Kuldeep Chillar, president of Raja Vihar colony where 10 residents were among the first to get ownership rights in January last year, said, “The priority is to get ownership of the property first. Development or redevelopment of the area is secondary. People will be able to do or plan development of the colony only when the government acknowledges our ownership.”

Regularisation of unauthorised colonies in Delhi has been a longstanding issue and a poll issue since early 2000. While the Congress-led Delhi government has announced regularisation of authorised colonies in 2008, it couldn’t be done due to technical issues. Ahead of the assembly elections in 2020, the BJP had promised to confer ownership rights to residents of unauthorised colonies. In 2019, the BJP-led Centre passed a law in this regard.

While urban planning experts welcomed the move by DDA to draft these norms, they say that redevelopment norms should be further relaxed as some of the provisions will be difficult to be implemented.

Shamsher Singh, former chief town planner with erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi said, “It is good that they have drafted special norms for these colonies. For any planned development in these colonies, redevelopment is the only option. But these norms are more builder-oriented, as it will be difficult for RWAs or individuals to comply with them. As for paying infrastructure development charges, it will be difficult to get people to agree to it as last time when similar efforts were made, RWAs had refused to pay for layouts, which were prepared by the corporations.”

The DDA’s decision to get a developer entity, Sabyasachi Das, former planning commissioner with DDA, said, might pose a hurdle in the entire process. “In these colonies, on each plot there are three-four floors which have been sold individually. Getting people to agree to pool plots or amalgamate will be a challenge.”