The Master Plan for Delhi is one of the key instruments that facilitates Delhi’s development by assessing the present condition and guiding how to achieve the desired development. The anchor agency for the master plan is the Delhi Development Authority. Implementation of the Plan is the collective responsibility of all agencies involved in the development of Delhi, including the Central Government, concerned departments of the Government of the NCT of Delhi, service providers, landowning agencies, regulators, and local bodies among others.
The release of the Master Plan for Delhi- 2041 coincides with the 75th year of India’s Independence. India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world by 2050 and its growth trajectory is increasingly being defined by cities that contribute 60 per cent of the GDP. The Government has increased the focus on urban development by embarking upon a comprehensive programme for planned urban development in 2014, designed to bring about a transformative change in the lives of people with inclusive, participative and sustainable approach
As per the draft plan, the main focus areas are water, environment, critical resources, housing, mobility, built environment and public places, vulnerability, economic potential, heritage assets and monitoring and evaluation.
One of the key focus area: Shifting to renewable energy and efficient power consumption
In light of global warming and climate change, it is imperative to develop a plan to enable the transition from conventional sources such as fossil fuels towards
clean energy sources.
A Renewable Energy Plan shall be prepared for Delhi to identify potential renewable energy generation areas within Delhi along with strategies and
projects to meet the targets outlined by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.
Delhi has a high potential for generation of solar energy, therefore, the following strategies maybe adopted for scaling up the production of solar energy in Delhi:
i) Solar farms shall be encouraged in the ‘Green Development Area ’in line with “The Agriculture-cum-Solar Farm Scheme” of Delhi. Power purchase agreement based models may be adopted to incentivise landowners to set up solar farms on their agricultural lands.
ii) Delhi has a number of canals that can be utilised for harnessing solar energy as per feasibility. The canal owning agencies may leverage this potential for generation of solar energy.
iii) Government buildings and institutional campuses with a roof top area above 500 sq.m to install solar PVs as per Delhi Solar Policy 2016 and Net Metering Regulations, 2014.
iv) Large scale public facilities such as airports, metro stations, railway stations, inter-state and city-level bus stations/depots, stadiums etc., may progressively meet majority of their power requirements through solar and other renewable energy.
v) Any excess power generated (after meeting on-site requirements) may be fed into the grid, 15.2.4 The following strategies may be adopted to enhance the usage of solar energy in buildings and public spaces:
i) Solar-based LED lighting to be used for roads, parks and public places. These shall be implemented as part of area improvement projects by concerned agencies such as Walk Plans and MMI.
ii) Installation of solar PVs shall be encouraged in all plots with roof area more than 100 sq.m and solar assisted water heating shall be promoted as per UBBL. Installation of the same to be made mandatory for all new constructions and linked to building permissions.
iii) DISCOMS shall undertake installation of smart meters in a phased manner for all existing buildings, and mandatorily for all new constructions.
iv) The practice of differential pricing for power supply may be adopted by DERC to encourage increased solar usage during peak hours, to reduce the peak load and improve system efficiency.
