After laying foundation stone of the country’s very first transit oriented development (TOD) project in Delhi under which a state-of-the-art infrastructure zone will be constructed, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has modified the TOD policy to encourage development around transit nodes and encourage the use of public transport.
TOD will also allow the city to capitalise on the large-scale investments being made into public transit infrastructure — Metro Rail, Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) by facilitating the improvement of old housing stock in addition to creation of new housing stock and economic centres around strategically located transit nodes and opening up opportunities for value capture. The TOD policy will also unlock the latent economic potential and land values in the city.
TOD policy will help in bringing people and jobs closer to mass transit and lead to much needed integration of land use and transport in the city. It incorporates a variety of high-density, mixed-use, mixed-income buildings within a short distance of a rapid public transport network. It will result in compact, walkable, mixed-use developments within influence zones of transit stations.
To provide housing for all sections of the society, projects along the influential zones would provide a variety of options and promote community living by offering shared spaces and amenities.
To promote a healthy living, the policy directs 20 per cent of the area under a project to be developed as a green space that will be enjoyed by everyone; while 10 per cent of this could be for exclusive use. A developer constructing a green building on a plot of 5,000 sq mt and above will be allowed an additional FAR.
Development of car-sale showrooms, automobile repair & servicing shops, banquet halls, LPG godowns, electric substation, bus depot, cremation ground, standalone multi-level parking without on-site mixed use and open ground parking will not be permitted.
As per guidelines, the TOD scheme will cover a minimum one hectare and maximum eight hectare of area fulfilling all eligibility criteria’s.
For developing areas along the Mass Rapid Transit System - 500 metres of area on both sides, will be known as influential zones. Influence zone is either established at a transit stations or along the transit corridors. It is generally up to a radius of nearly 500-800m of the transit station. Where the distance between the transit stations is less than 1 km and there is overlap in the influence area, it can be identified as a delineated zone (around 500m) on either side of the transit corridor within 10 - 12 minutes walking distance.