The capital city of the nation is getting bigger. A huge land bank of around 28,000 hectre is going to be released for development with the urban development ministry approving the zonal plans that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had sought.
?This land will have all kinds of usages, including residential, commercial, and industrial. More than half of the land that is freed is going to be used for residential purpose, which in turn will increase the housing capacity of the city. The rest will be used for commercial and mixed usage,? a top official of the urban development ministry said.
Freeing up of the new land will take some time as it involves developing the infrastructure, engaging many government departments and agencies. This include ministry of roads & highways, railways and the Delhi government. With huge investments required to create civic amenities and make the new area suitable to reside in, massive resource mobilisation will be required. But once the infrastructure is available, it will push the borders of the city and solve the problem of scarcity of land to a large extent.
Delhi is divided into 17 zones, out of which plans for 15 zones have been approved. The ones that are yet to get approval are D and P2, which DDA is yet to send to the ministry for approval. The highlights of the approved zonal plan include the regularisation of unauthorised colonies and permitting schools and cultural organisations that had come up in areas not marked for them . Concretisation will not be allowed in Zone O, the river Yamuna region, because it will be developed as a green and eco-friendly zone. As expected, no changes will be allowed in Lutyens? Delhi, which is zone D, since it is a heritage zone.