Master plans are routinely used around the world to shape tomorrow’s cities, be it to add amenities, apportion land, protect the environment or improve citizens’ quality of life.ĭelhi’s Master Plan 2041, its fourth since the first effort covering 1961-81, introduces policies for a “strategic and enabling framework that can nurture the future growth of the city,” said Delhi Development Authority, the planning agency. “Unfortunately, this almost full-cooked draft has too much that is still not acceptable or missing, and it’s not clear if there will be room for much change,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “There is a massive push for redevelopment, for greater commercialisation in residential areas, erasing agriculture from the city and denying housing spaces for the poor,” said Menon, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, a think tank. The draft Delhi Master Plan 2041, open for public feedback until July 24, aims to cater for a population of about 29 million - up from 19 million now - with better public transport and mobility, wider housing options and more green space.īut the draft ignores deeply-held concerns over fair land use, lacks affordable housing and short-changes marginalised groups to benefit business, said Manju Menon, an urban expert. July 2 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Planners in the Indian capital of Delhi have set out a vision for a “sustainable, liveable and vibrant” future city in a master plan that experts say ignores its informal workers and bypasses its many poor. * Citizens’ groups fear plan ignores informal workers, poor

* Plan prepares for population of about 29 million * Draft plan for 2021-41 is open for feedback for 45 days

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