MCD finalising road network plans for three illegal colonies in Delhi
The MCD town planning department has published the map plans proposing road widening in these colonies for seeking public feedback
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is in the process of finalising the road network plans for three unauthorised colonies in the Capital, officials aware of the matter have said. These road network plans, the officials said, will be the first step in regularising the approximately 1,800 unauthorised colonies in Delhi.
A senior municipal official said that draft plans for the regularisation of the three colonies — Khirki Extension in south Delhi, East Azad Nagar in east Delhi, and Saroop Nagar Extension in north Delhi — have been prepared with the help of School of Planning and Architecture (SPA). According to the official, the plan broadly proposes a road widening exercise in these colonies under three categories of road — 6m, 9m, and 12m.
The MCD town planning department has published the map plans proposing road widening in these colonies for seeking public feedback.
“We have put up the plans on the official MCD website to obtain suggestions from residents, and people will be able to give their feedback till January 30...The roads have been proposed to be of 6m, 9m and 12m categories and private plot owners will have to provide space for the road widening exercise in their areas, paving the way for regularisation,” the official said.
A second municipal official said these three colonies may serve as the model for other unauthorised colonies across the city. “These three model colonies were selected by the erstwhile North, South and East MCDs. Layout plans need to be formalised as a precursor to regularise the area. We have kept a minimum road width of 6m to allow emergency vehicles to pass. The project for these three colonies was funded by the Delhi Development Authority,” the official said, declining to be named.
The proposed road network plan specifies the colony’s boundaries, existing roads, proposed roads by widening and augmentation, and residential areas, along with existing government schools, Delhi Jal Board facilities and a proposed police station. “Every property in the colony has been marked under the road network plan. The number of plots and extent to which they will be affected by road widening has also been specified,” the official said.
The official also noted that funding this project will be a challenge.
“The question of who will bear the cost for this has been a challenge due to MCD’s financial crisis. We are hoping that the special development fund (SDF) from urban development ministry will be used for the rest of the unauthorised colonies,” the official said, referring to a special fund notified by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs in April 2023, which mandates that at least 20% funding should be supported by the implementation agency using other sources.
Unauthorised colonies are unplanned residential settlements built in violation of zoning regulations — either in contravention of Delhi’s master plans or on illegally subdivided agricultural land. About one-third of Delhi is estimated to live in sub-standard housing in these unplanned areas, which often lack safe, adequate housing, public amenities, and basic services.
Jagdish Mamgain, former works committee chairman in the MCD and an expert in matters related to urban planning, said the clause related to demolishing sections of houses to widen the roads is impractical. “Most of these houses are 3-4 storeys tall and built up on 100% of the plot area. No one will be willing to demolish their structures. MCD will have to find innovative solutions,” he said.
Ranbir Singh Solanki, the president of the Madhu Vihar colonies welfare association, that covers over two dozen unauthorized colonies in southwest Delhi, said people will not be willing to get their houses demolished unless adequate land is provided in compensation. “The land has been purchased by poor people with hard-earned money. No one will be such massive losses even if the colony is regularised. Either the regularisation should happen on as it where is basis or compensation should be provided,” he said.
The second MCD official said that according to DDA regularisation regulations laid down in 2008, resident welfare associations (RWAs) should provide land for common amenities such as parks and schools, but there has been clear reluctance on part of residents to free up this land.
“In the proposed draft plan, we have no provision for these facilities. We will identify and earmark existing units, and the layout plan mostly focuses on road widening. People will be given floor area ratio (FAR) benefits for providing the land for road widening,” the official said.
The first official added that the final plan will have to be approved by MCD’s powerful standing committee before it is given the go-ahead.
HT has reported previously how the non-constitution of the standing committee — a key panel that controls MCD’s purse strings — has led to the corporation being stuck in a political and legal stalemate leading to more than 150 policy decisions — ranging from sanitation to urban development — being stuck in limbo.
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