NEW DELHI — The draft Delhi Master Plan 2047 (MPD-2047) has outlined a significantly expanded and decentralised healthcare framework for the capital. Union Minister of Urban Development and Housing Manohar Lal, along with Lt. Governor Sardar Taranjit Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, released the plan details at a press conference at the National Media Centre.
The policy proposes establishing six neighbourhood health centres and three hospitals for every one lakh population. The framework moves away from an exclusive reliance on large, centralised facilities, aiming instead to integrate primary, secondary, and tertiary care across residential zones and public transport corridors.
At the neighbourhood level, the plan introduces a unified "Health Centre" category that encompasses maternity homes, nursing homes, polyclinics, dispensaries, family welfare centres, paediatric and geriatric centres, and diagnostic laboratories. This classification is designed to give planning agencies the flexibility to develop specific facilities based on local demand without requiring separate land-use designations for each medical function.
To overcome spatial constraints in densely populated areas where large land parcels are scarce, MPD-2047 permits healthcare and social infrastructure through vertical mixing within buildings. It also allows identified public and semi-public facilities within residential plotted developments under specific regulatory provisions.
Under the proposed planning norms, neighbourhood health centres require an indicative minimum plot size of 1,000 square metres, while hospitals are allotted a minimum of 2,000 square metres per unit. At the sub-city level, the plan proposes three hospitals for every five lakh population, with an indicative minimum plot size of 1.5 hectares, alongside one de-addiction and rehabilitation centre for the same demographic threshold.
Officials clarified that these figures serve as indicative planning norms rather than fixed construction quotas, allowing authorities to modify implementation based on local requirements, land availability, and regional planning considerations.
Beyond conventional medical care, the framework includes specialized facilities such as transitional care homes, respite-care facilities, early-intervention units, and after-care centres. It also incorporates provisions for infrastructure dedicated to persons with disabilities, special needs populations, and the elderly.
At the city level, the master plan provides for medical colleges, nursing institutes, and paramedic training facilities. These campuses may house research and development laboratories, diagnostic centres, rehabilitation units, staff housing, hostels, and day-care facilities.
To prepare for future public health emergencies, the plan incorporates provisions for local sample-collection centres, testing laboratories, and sub-city disaster management units, alongside a city-level Disaster Management Centre equipped with isolation units and emergency shelters.
Furthermore, MPD-2047 allows reduced plot-area and setback norms for primary healthcare infrastructure in unplanned and lower-income neighbourhoods, addressing historical challenges related to land availability in older parts of the city. The overarching document establishes a tiered regulatory blueprint without detailing specific construction timelines, individual hospital sites, or bed capacities.
"The healthcare framework outlined in the Delhi Master Plan 2047 introduces important flexibility in urban land use, particularly through the consolidation of neighbourhood health facilities and vertical integration. For the real estate, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors, these decentralised planning norms create structured opportunities for development in dense urban clusters. Business and healthcare operators should closely monitor how these indicative norms translate into municipal regulations and execution frameworks." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes
