Delhi Development Authority has made land pooling in the capital more convenient and attractive. On Tuesday DDA gave its final approval to additional development control (ADC) norms for areas notified under its ambitious land pooling policy. The decision has been made in order to make it more attractive for landowners & private developers.

The proposed ADC norms, which would see the implementation of new features like vertical mixing and transferable development rights for the first time in Delhi, were approved at the Authority’s meeting chaired by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal.

The policy, which was notified in 2018 and aims to overcome the cumbersome process of land acquisition by making landowners equal partners in the development process, has seen 6930.4 hectares of land submitted for pooling till December 20, 2020, through a web portal launched in February 2019. While DDA is to play the role of a facilitator, it is working towards initiating planning and development in some likely-to-be eligible sectors.

Officials admitted, on the condition of anonymity, that though overall enough land has been pooled to create a sub-city, the land parcels are scattered and need readjustment as the response from landowners has been far short of what was expected.

“That is why these ADC norms have been brought to allow more flexibility to developers and make the policy more attractive. Now mixed-use in the land pooling areas has also been approved, including high-intensity mixed-use development along major transportation corridors,” said an official.

Vertical mixing, a first for the capital, would allow multiple uses in a single structure with a maximum FAR of 400 and transferable development rights, which is a new concept for the capital. It would be possible to build more commercial spaces in the pooled area or more residential ones, depending on the market demand.

“For instance, flexibility to convert commercial use to residential has been permitted as long as the norms are not violated. The development should not be monotonous, and developers can take up land pooling projects based on market demand,” said the official.

The total area that can be built at the sector level can be varied or loaded across different plots in a sector but without exceeding the maximum FAR limit of the sector, so that an overall balance is maintained.

The new norms also allow plotted development in areas notified for land pooling in a cluster of a minimum size of 5,000 sq m on a net residential plot. Priority has been given to walkability, enhanced open spaces, public plazas, and active frontage in the sectors. The proposed ADC norms will now be forwarded to the union ministry of housing and urban affairs for its consideration and final notification.

The policy is at present applicable in the urban extension areas of Delhi, comprising 95 villages. The entire area is divided into 109 sectors, with an average area of 250 to 350 hectares in each sector, which are expected to accommodate a population of 80,000 to 1 lakh.

Other important decisions taken by the Authority include the constitution of a board for reviewing the objections and suggestions received on the draft Master Plan for Delhi-2041. DDA is working towards getting the final approval for MPD-2041 by December.

DDA also approved the modification of the nomenclature for a plot earmarked for a sports complex in Dwarka’s Sector-19 to name it International Sports Complex. The area is expected to become an entertainment and tourist destination with real estate development like hotels, retail, convention centre, residential, etc. It was decided at the meeting that facilities would be available to the public not only on the basis of membership but through pay-and-play services too.

DDA also changed the land use from residential to transportation for a multi-level car parking facility at Idgah Road, which would help the north corporation and DMRC to construct the facility, which is coming up as an integrated project with the proposed Nabi Karim interchange Metro station of Phase IV.