Delhi Master Plan 2047: 40 lakh residences to be built, affordable housing & metro expansion priority with 100+ floor skyscrapers

By Bricksnwall | 2026-08-21

The Master Plan 2047 seeks 30-40 lakh dwelling units and vertical expansion over the next 20 years to meet a projected population rise of 80 lakh.

On August 20, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal launched a long-term roadmap for urban development of Delhi in line with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. The minister said that 30-40 lakh homes will be constructed in the national capital under the Master Plan Delhi 2047 to accommodate its growing population, which is expected to reach 3.2 crore in the next two decades.

“Today, in 2026, the Delhi Development Plan 2047 has been formally announced, in accordance with the current Viksit Bharat (Developed India) vision to create a proper road map for the development of the capital city till 2047,” he said.The new plan aims at adding 30-40 lakh new housing units to accommodate an estimated population rise of 80 lakh and increasing number of nuclear couples, he said introducing the Delhi Master Plan 2047.

“The total land area of the city remains at 1,483 square kilometers, but this ever increasing population puts a lot of pressure on space and infrastructure, reinforcing the need for planned development,” Khattar said while releasing the 535-page master plan, along with Delhi Lieutenant Governor T S Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

The plan has been established to ensure that the future expansion of Delhi takes place in a systematic manner and the changing demands of its population are taken care of, Khattar added.

Khattar, during a news conference in the capital, said the population of Delhi rose from 94 lakh in 1991 to 1.38 crore in 2001 and 2.12 crore in 2021. It is presently estimated at about 2.4 crore and is anticipated to touch 3.2 crore by 2047.

Master Plan 2047 proposes to address this housing need through rehabilitation and intensification of existing neighborhoods, transit-oriented development (TOD), land pooling and planned growth into new regions. The development of housing in the future will be intimately linked to the availability of roads, public transport, water, sewerage and other critical infrastructure. Future growth in the greenfield regions will mostly be through land pooling and other policy-led development approaches. The design also encourages a mix of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational and public uses to create more integrated, self-contained neighborhoods.

Metro to be expanded to 695 km by 2047:

The Metro, RRTS networks are expected to allow denser growth under Master Plan 2047.

The metro rail network will be extended to 695 km by 2047 to cater to the rising population, Khattar stated. The city would also develop public transport with metro rail, busses and six new Regional Rapid Transit System corridors, he said.

The Master Plan 2047 envisages high-density mixed-use development under the transit-oriented development criteria within 500 m on either side of existing and proposed Metro corridors and within a radius of 500 m of nodes around RRTs, railroad and high-speed rail stations.

On the setting of rules in the city

Except for Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalow Area, Connaught Place and its extension, Zone ‘O’ (the Yamuna floodplain and the Ridge), Land Pooling Areas, Low Density Areas and areas which are under restriction of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) or the National Monuments Authority (NMA), the building height norms have been scrapped in the city, Khattar said.

According to the master plan, the maximum height for plots without stilt parking, for residential housing plotted outside these special zones, must be 15 meters and for plots with stilt parking, 17.5 meters. Commercial activities will be allowed in residential neighborhoods on the ground level along 30 meter wide roads. "Data centers, co-working spaces and cloud kitchens have been brought within the new economies category, the minister stated.

The Master Plan 2047, notified by the MoHUA on August 20, also opens the doors for vertical and high-rise development, which can see 100-plus-floor skyscrapers coming up in Delhi. These structures are designated as ‘tall buildings’ and as ‘landmark developments.’

There is also a suggestion for 24-hour activity zones, Khattar said. “There is a proposal to develop ‘24-hour city’ zones, where operations continue round the clock.”

The master plan notified by the Ministry also has multi-modal transit hubs at Anand Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan and Kashmiri Gate, a unified parking management system and flexible Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for various categories.

TOD to support affordable housing

Khattar said Transit Oriented Development Policy will provide inexpensive housing. “No farm houses will be permitted in low density areas."Further, to support seamless mobility, the framework prioritizes public transport corridors—spanning Metro rail, bus networks and RRTS—backed by a dedicated Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy to guide high-density growth along major transit routes," the Union Minister stated.

TOD, or transit-oriented development, is a town planning technique that encourages housing, workplaces, stores and places for entertainment around public transport hubs. The aim is to reduce dependence on private vehicles, reduce travel time and cut the cost of transport. This can be done under TOD by permitting a higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for land parcels near public transport corridors, which permits increased development and larger populations to live and work close to mass transit.

The much-awaited MPD 2047 will rejuvenate the city by laying emphasis on affordable housing and boosting the transportation infrastructure, CM Gupta stated. The master plan is based on the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, which seeks to make Delhi a world-class, inclusive and economically vibrant metropolis for close to 3.2 crore people.This is not only a Master Plan for Delhi, this is a development vision document, a comprehensive road map for development. Taking into account the existing problems of the capital, it will determine the development vector in accordance with the needs of its future. Better collaboration between the Central government and the Delhi administration was giving a new thrust to the city’s development,” she said.

The urban development planning under the new Master Plan has also taken into account the issue of increased transport-related pollution in the national capital, she said. The Chief Minister added, “The increasing pollution in Delhi due to transport has also been taken into account while planning urban development.

“We aim to give housing to people from all sections of the society,” Gupta said. "One of the major highlights of this Master Plan is the provision of housing for all sections of the society," she added.

"Also, commercial activities will now be allowed on the ground floors of the buildings located on 30-meter wide roads," she added.A major decision has also been taken about the commercial activities. “Now, commercial activities will be allowed on the ground floors of buildings on all the 30-meter-wide roads in Delhi,” CM Gupta remarked.

She said the growth of Delhi should not be confined to roads and buildings. It should have better housing, decent education, health care, employment, transport, green spaces and public services.

The chief minister said inhabitants of various ancient residential colonies in Delhi have been waiting for years for a way forward for renovation of their regions. “Work will be taken up for developing housing for the slum settlements in Delhi through PPP model in coordination between DDA and Delhi government. “The priority of the government is to give better and dignified houses to the eligible families,” she stated.

24-hour city areas

Khattar also touched upon the plan for round-the-clock activity zones.

“There is a suggestion to create ‘24-hour city’ zones where activities will be round the clock,” he said adding “Provisions are being made for 24-hour transportation services, especially Metro connectivity, for these areas.

“We have made plans for low density development areas. These include internal roads 18 meters in width and master trunk roads 45 meters Right of Way (ROW),” Khattar stated."To manage congestion effectively, the layout should keep open space along the plots on both sides of the 15-to-18-meter internal roads," he stated.

MPD-2047 to boost real estate investment, spur new projects: Experts “After almost a decade in the making, a notified Master Plan for Delhi 2047 gives the industry the certainty it has long been waiting for,” said Amit Goyal, Managing Director, India Sotheby’s International Realty.

It may be noted that the draft MPD-2047 cleared in the DDA meeting on 12 August 2026 also had the Green Development Area (GDA) policy, under which around 69 villages were to be developed with a mix of residential and commercial hubs together with green areas. That too finds no reference in the final gazette published, he said.The main value creator is Transit Oriented Development. As it starts to take off in earnest, increasing densities along the metro and RRTS routes could change the way and the place Delhi lives and works. “The scale of supply that the capital needs is the ambition of the plan to add another roughly 40 lakh dwelling units in the next two decades,” he said.

Parveen Jain, president, NAREDCO, stated, “Approval of the Delhi-2047 Master Plan is a very positive development for the capital and its real estate sector. The plan is more development oriented urban planning, with a strong focus on better infrastructure, efficient land use, investment and improved quality of life. This gives a good base for the next phase of the planned expansion of Delhi.

“The approval of Delhi-2047 Master Plan is a positive step for the real estate market of Delhi,” said Harsh Vardhan Bansal, president, NAREDCO Delhi. What is interesting is the plan’s focus on planned development supported by infrastructure, improved land use and a flexible approach to mixed use development. “This can make the environment more conducive for developers to plan and invest in the city.

“It is a good opportunity for the sector. “MPD-2047 can inspire new projects, help to attract investment and contribute to the development of better and more livable neighborhoods across Delhi with better integration of housing, commercial activity, mobility and infrastructure,” he said.

Source: Hindustan Times