Affordable rental housing, residential areas with complete facilities and small format housing will be some of the key focus areas of housing development according to the draft Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2041.
The draft master plan, which has been placed in the public domain to invite objections and suggestions from common citizens, will facilitate Delhi’s development by assessing the present condition and guiding how to achieve the desired development over the next 20 years.
It has been prepared by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
The plan says that around 28.4 per cent of households live in rental accommodation (Census, 2011) and it is estimated that the number would have increased over the last decade.
According to the Socio-Economic Survey of Delhi of 2018-19, over 32 per cent of the population are migrants and prefer rental housing due to low entry and exit costs. Most of this rental housing demand is being catered by unplanned settlements, with issues of tenure insecurity and compromised living conditions.
“There is a need to address the housing needs of students, single working men and women, migrants, etc. through affordable housing, rental housing, hostels, studio apartments, serviced apartments, dormitories, etc,” it says.
The document says 11 per cent of the Census Houses (including houses used as residence and residence-cum-other-uses) in Delhi are vacant (Census, 2011) and that there is a potential to bring such stock back into circulation through rental options.
Laying down the road map, the draft says that future housing supply shall be met through large scale development of sectors in Delhi’s greenfield areas using the land pooling model. Identified land pooling areas have the potential to develop 17-20 lakh dwelling units.
It cites how metropolitan cities across the world maintain a diversified rental housing stock providing residents and migrants tenure flexibility, geographical mobility and affordability.
A paradigm shift is envisaged in the supply scenario, with the private sector leading the development or redevelopment of housing over the plan period, it added.
“Public agencies shall play the role of a ‘facilitator’ and ensure ease of doing business, through appropriate regulatory environment,” the draft states.
On rental housing, it says, “A mix of rental options such as affordable rentals with controlled rents, market rental units, rent-to-own models may be explored. Public agencies may also consider bringing their unsold/vacant public housing stock into the rental market to ensure utilisation of such assets.”
Talking about Affordable Public Rental Housing (APRH), the plan proposes that DDA and other public agencies may take up such projects on public lands close to activity centres (industrial areas, educational hubs, etc.) to improve the availability of affordable rental stock.
“The large number of EWS housing units created as part of group housing projects provide opportunities to improve the availability of affordable rental housing stock. Suitable models may be explored for facilitating the same. Employer Housing projects of government agencies may be exempted from provision of EWS housing after approval of competent authority,” it says.
The plan also proposes the development of low density and low floor area ratio (FAR) residential areas within the Green Development Area and regeneration of existing areas, both in terms of improvement of existing stock and creation of new units through densification.
All housing areas shall be developed as complete neighbourhoods with requisite local facilities within walking distance. Such facilities shall be provided as part of the residential layout, it says.
“In order to address the housing needs of the migrant population across all income groups, rental and affordable housing shall be promoted within the city, particularly in areas closer to transit. Public projects for Transit-Oriented Development or large-scale regeneration may especially focus on creating such affordable rental housing options,” it says.
The plan also proposes incentives for encouraging the private sector to provide rental housing or other non-ownership formats like serviced apartments, worker housing, etc.
“In order to improve management of such rental assets, public agencies may seek the services of rental management agencies and housing aggregators. An online portal giving information regarding availability, location, rentals, etc. shall be created,” it says.
The draft states that a conducive environment for rental housing shall be further improved by revising the existing rental acts, laws and rules.
Taking into consideration the limited availability of land, the plan proposes to maximise the housing supply by ensuring the development of small format housing of 40 to 60 square metres.
Development in the land pooling areas provides opportunities for creating multiple housing typologies. At the sector level, 25 per cent of the net residential FAR shall be utilised for creating small-format housing.
On the regeneration of existing planned residential areas, the draft says the process will enable optimal utilisation of urban land to create new housing and improve the quality of housing.
“For all planned residential areas, other than government-owned housing and slum rehabilitation schemes, regeneration would primarily be a private sector-led initiative,” it says.
Group housing shall be preferable as part of regeneration schemes and such projects shall provide affordable housing as per the MPD provisions.
On the regeneration of unplanned residential areas like unauthorised colonies, the draft states that appropriate incentives and relaxations in norms shall be provided for facilitating amalgamation and joint regeneration of areas.
