The new plan legalizes the houses of around three and a half million
people, who have until now lived in fear of seeing their homes knocked
down. Areas deemed dangerous will be redeveloped, and the city’s roughly
two million slum dwellers will be rehoused, many of them in the new,
tall, developments.
Since the 1950s, successive governments have restricted housing
construction to one state body, the Delhi Development Authority. Mr.
Maken has said that the state-backed system has proved disastrous, and
the new plan (the third drawn up since 1962) allows private developers
into the housing market for the first time.
To give these developers an incentive, the plan abolishes restrictions
on tall construction, in all but a few historic areas. Building upward
is a radical solution for a city where height restrictions keep most
buildings at tree level. But since the government has been unable to
stop the annual arrival of half a million migrants driven by rural
poverty, it now says radical action is necessary.
Under the new plan, developers will be able to approach residents, who
mostly live in three-story buildings, with a plan to provide them with
an equal-size apartment in a 15-story block and a cash bonus of, say,
2.5 million rupees, or $56,500. The plan stipulates that 35 percent of
the housing be developed for poor residents, and that green space be
left between the tall buildings.
cont'd....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/world/asia/13delhi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin