After a five-year delay, the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD)-2047 was notified by the Centre on Thursday, unlocking large tracts of the Capital for high-rise housing, dense development and greater private-sector participation.Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta unveiled the plan, which aims to address Delhi’s growing housing and commercial space crunch as its population is projected to rise from the current around 2.2 crore to 3.2 crore by 2047.The Union Minister said the plan will prove to be a milestone in shaping the future of the Capital. “The Master Plan envisages the development of around 40 lakh new affordable housing units, with a focus on meeting the future housing requirements of the city,” he added.He added that the implementation of the plan would be boosted by the “triple engine sarkar” in Delhi, referring to the BJP being in power in the Centre, the state and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.“I have no hesitation in admitting that when there are different governments, there tends to be a lack of coordination… The Centre, state and municipality all have the same mindset now,” he said.Building upUnlike neighbouring Noida and Gurgaon, Delhi has not witnessed large-scale private sector development and remained dominated by low-rise plotted housing and cooperative group housing. MPD-2047 seeks to change that by relaxing density and height restrictions and making large-scale private development more viable.Story continues below this adHeight restrictions have been removed across most of Delhi, except the Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, airport areas and villages along the city’s borders. Density restrictions have been loosened up in large parts.The private sector has been incentivised to come in and start playing a bigger role in large-scale development and redevelopment.18 lakh homes around Metro corridorsThe biggest push is expected from the transit-oriented development (TOD) policy, which the government estimates could bring 18 lakh homes into the market over the next two decades.TOD is an urban development strategy that aims to create the maximum possible number of houses, shops, offices and recreational spaces near public transport facilities. More than 200 sq km along Metro corridors have been opened for dense, high-rise development, with a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) — total size of all floors one can build compared to the size of the land — of 500.Story continues below this adTo ensure availability of smaller and affordable homes, developers will have to use 65% of the permissible construction for flats with a carpet area of less than 60 sq m.High-rises along UER-IIHigh-rises are expected to come up on either side of the Urban Extension Road II, which cuts across Outer Delhi’s Narela, Bawana, Mundka and Najafgarh.Under the High Density Corridor Development policy, an FAR of 400 has been granted for 250 m on either side of the expressway. One-fifth of the permissible FAR will have to be utilised for smaller flats.12 lakh homes through land poolingAround 12 lakh houses are expected to be built in the land pooling area, which is roughly 200 sq km in Outer Delhi. In land pooling, landowners come together to assemble land for planned development, instead of the government acquiring the land.Story continues below this adThe policy has been eased by reducing the minimum land requirement needed to participate in pooling. The DDA can also propose mandatory pooling in selected areas, though this will require amendments to the DDA Act by Parliament.Redevelopment: Private sector pushSlum rehabilitation has been made more attractive for private sector participation. Developers will now be allowed to build high-rises on slum land and sell a larger share of it for profit under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.Old group housing colonies will be allowed one-and-a-half times their existing FAR for redevelopment.Around seven lakh homes are expected from redevelopment of unauthorised colonies, where high-density construction has been permitted with an FAR of 350.Fewer land-use categoriesStory continues below this adThe plan attempts to make development easier by reducing land-use categories from 133 to 45.DDA Vice Chairman Sarvana Kumar said this would reduce the need for developers to go through the complex process of changing land use when a plot is required for some other purpose.Provisions have also been made for new economic categories like data centres, cloud kitchens and co-working spaces.The plan also allows commercial establishments to be run on the ground floor of all buildings on all 30 m wide roads in Delhi.