For developers & consortium organisers

Land pooling,
as a deal

Six thresholds decide whether a Delhi land pooling scheme is worth assembling, what comes back, and when it can legally start. Every figure below is cited to the notified gazette or to DDA — not to coverage of them.

MPD-2047 · S.O. 4597(E) · 20 August 2026

The six numbers

If you remember nothing else

2 ha

To be a Developer Entity — below it, land comes back as built space, not land

20 ha

Minimum scheme, on the group-assembly route

70%

Of a sector's developable area pooled before it is eligible at all

53%

Back as gross residential — not 60. Only 55% of it, 29% of your land, carries FAR

200

FAR on a pooled plot. 400 only inside the UER-II corridor

8,000 m²

Original plot to reach FAR 400, half of it surrendered

Are you a Developer Entity?

Three routes, one threshold

DDA recognises a Developer Entity three ways, and every one of them turns on the same 2 hectares:

DDA Land Policy FAQ, Q27. The instrument matters as much as the area — routes (ii) and (iii) are only a DE once the agreement exists.
Route	Who	What it needs
i	A single landowner	Parcels in the sector adding to 2 ha
ii	A group of landowners	2 ha collectively, under a valid legally enforceable agreement
iii	A developer or corporate entity	Representing owners who pooled 2 ha, under a legally binding agreement

Below 2 ha and outside a DE, the return changes in kind A landowner with under 2 hectares who is not part of a Developer Entity is eligible only for built space — constructed area — and how much is settled later, at Implementation Plan stage. Not a plot. This is the single strongest argument you have when assembling: joining your DE changes what a smallholder receives, not merely how fast.

What comes back

Enter the land you would pool

Land pooled

Unit

—

Contributed

—

Returned, max 60%

—

Of which gross residential, 53%

—

Commercial 5% + civic 2%

—

Net residential — max 55% of gross, the only part FAR 200 runs on

—

Floor area at FAR 200, on net residential

—

Developer Entity status

Model on 29, not 53 — and never on 60 Table 4.1.1 itemises both halves. The landowner's maximum 60% is gross residential 53%, city-level commercial 5%, public/semi-public 2%. DDA's minimum 40% is commercial 5% plus 35% for services, roads and circulation. But gross residential is not buildable land: DDA defines it as net residential plus the local roads, neighbourhood parks, schools, dispensary, local shopping and neighbourhood utilities inside it, in a ratio of 55% net to 45% facilities. FAR 200 applies only to the net residential land. So a hectare contributed returns 6,000 sqm of land, 5,300 sqm of it gross residential, of which at most 2,915 sqm — 29.15% of what you pooled — carries FAR 200, for 5,830 sqm of floor. Model the floor area on 53% and you are 82% optimistic; model the land on 60% and you are 13% out before you even start.

Why 200, when a plot in a colony gets 300

Chapter 7 sets residential FAR by plot size, and those are the numbers most people in Delhi carry in their heads. They do not reach a pooling scheme.

MPD-2047 Table 7.2, Plotted Housing — the *general-area* norms. These do not apply inside a land pooling scheme.
Plot area	Ground coverage	Max FAR	Max DUs
Up to 50 m²	90%	350	3
50–100 m²	90%	350	4
100–250 m²	75%	300	4
250–750 m²	75%	225	5
Above 750 m²	50%	200	7–10

200 is not a pooling discount — it is the group housing rate The Development Code governs everything “except in cases where specific Development Controls have been provided”, and it names land pooling as one of the Policy Led Development Areas that run on their own policy instead — at cl. 5.1 and again at cl. 5.1.3(ii). Chapter 4's pooling norms then carry no plot-size band at all, only “The FAR of each plot within a scheme shall be 200.” So the ladder above simply does not apply here.

And the comparison people reach for is the wrong one. DDA puts the residential FAR on net residential land as the group housing FAR (FAQ Q32), and Table 7.4 sets group housing at FAR 200 across all of Delhi. The 300 is a 100–250 m² plot carrying four dwelling units at 75% ground coverage — a different product, not a better rate on the same one. Like for like it is 200 against 200. The one residential premise that beats it is an Affordable Rental Housing Complex, at FAR 300.

The corridor, and what it costs to enter

FAR 400 is real. The surrender is the part nobody quotes.

Along the executed stretch of UER-II, the High Density Corridor permits FAR 400 — double a pooled plot. It applies in a 250 m band either side of the road's right-of-way, in planning zones K-I, L, N, P-I and P-II. Not in Zone J: the road does not run through it.

Zone and band from MPD-2047 §4.3 preamble and cl. 4.3.1(i); norms from cl. 4.3.3. Participation is voluntary — a plot that declines keeps the prevailing Master Plan norms, per cl. 4.3.3(i).
Requirement	Threshold
Original Plot, minimum	8,000 m²
Surrendered to DDA	50%
Final Plot, minimum	4,000 m²
Share of plot inside the corridor	≥ 75%
Access road, minimum ROW	18 m
FAR — residential, commercial, PSP	400
Of which, mandatorily to affordable housing — units under 60 m² carpet	20%
FAR — warehousing & logistics (only on Master Plan roads connecting to UER-II)	120
Ground coverage — res / com / PSP	40%
Ground coverage — warehousing	70%
Green area, minimum	15% of plot
Setbacks — 4,000–10,000 m² (F/R/S)	9 / 6 / 6 m
Setbacks — above 10,000 m² (F/R/S)	15 / 12 / 12 m
Parking — res / com / PSP	2 ECS per 100 m² FAR
Parking — warehousing	1 ECS per 100 m² FAR

The corridor carries a second, different exclusion list Clearing the seven land pooling exclusions does not clear a parcel for the HDC. Cl. 4.3.2 disapplies the corridor policy in any environmentally sensitive area, any Low Density Area, any Monument Prohibited Area or heritage building, and any Cantonment or Defence area — plus whatever else DDA notifies later. A parcel can sit squarely inside the 250 m band, clear every pooling test, and still have no route to FAR 400.

Do not compound the two surrenders in a model until DDA confirms it The clause states the HDC surrender as 50% of the “Original Plot” of minimum 8,000 sqm, and says the resulting HDC Plot forms part of the notified Road Network Plan for the land pooling area. What it does not spell out is how that 50% sits against the 60:40 you already gave at pooling. The honest position is that this is exactly what the Regulations settle, and it is the first question to put to DDA on any corridor-facing parcel. A model that silently stacks them, or silently does not, is guessing either way. That is why the calculator above stops at the pooled position and does not carry a number into the corridor.

It resolves plot by plot, not zone by zone Being in a corridor zone gives no plot anything. Two adjacent plots in one scheme can carry FAR 400 and FAR 200 — one qualified and opted in, the other did not. Assemble accordingly: contiguity along the corridor is worth more than area away from it.

When a sector can legally start

The threshold that decides your holding period

Your own paperwork can be perfect and the scheme still cannot begin. A sector is eligible only when all three are true:

Gate70% of the developable area pooled Below it, nothing proceeds. This is a coordination problem across neighbours, not a diligence problem you can solve alone.

GateThe pooled parcels are contiguous Scattered consent does not count. Reported experience on Sector 2 of Zone P-II: 87.8% of land pooled, but only 65.79% of it contiguous — so the sector still did not qualify.

GateBounded on at least one side by a road of ≥30 m ROW Existing or proposed per the Zonal Development Plan. Map 4 indicates the 30 m network across the pooling areas, refined by DDA to ground conditions.

Late entry is priced Land that stays out and comes forward afterwards can still be planned in, but must make at least 45% available for city-level infrastructure instead of 40%, plus updated external development charges. Five percentage points of land is the cost of waiting — useful leverage when persuading a holdout, and a real number to put in a downside case.

Where it applies

Six zones, five with the corridor

Pooling zones from MPD-2047 cl. 4.1.1(i); HDC zones from the §4.3 preamble. Land pooling areas total roughly 200 km²; the HDC band about 20 km²; TOD zones a further 200 km².
Zone	Pooling	UER-II corridor	Plot FAR
K-I — west	Applies	Yes	200 / 400
L — outer south-west	Applies	Yes	200 / 400
N — north-west	Applies	Yes	200 / 400
P-II — north, Narela	Applies	Yes	200 / 400
P-I — Narela sub-city	Unacquired land only	Yes	200 / 400
J — south	Part	No	200

A sector averages 250–350 hectares, per DDA — so a 20 ha scheme is a fraction of one, and the 70% gate is measured across the sector, not across your assembly.

The villages inside each zone

Where to start looking for parcels. A zone is an administrative division, not a boundary you can walk — the village name is what a revenue record, a broker and a seller will all actually use.

K-I West DelhiBaprola · Bakkarwala · Dhoolsiras · Hastsal · Kamruddin Nagar · Mundka · Nilothi · Nangloi Jat · Nawada Majra · Shafipur Ranhola · Tilangapur Kotla FAR 200or 400 in corridor

L Outer south-westAsalatpur Khawad · Chhawla · Daryapur Khurd · Daulatpura · Dhoolsiras · Dichaon Kalan · Dindarpur · Ghewra · Haibatpur · Hasanpur · Jafarpur Kalan · Jhuljhuli · Khaira · Malikpur Zer Najafgarh · Neelwal · Rewla Khanpur · Sarangpur · Surehra · Ujwa FAR 200or 400 in corridor

N North-west DelhiBawana · Bazidpur Thakran · Budhanpur · Chandpur · Jat Khor · Kanjhawala · Katewada · Ladpur · Nangal Thakran · Puath Khurd · Rani Khera · Rasulpur · Salahpur Majra · Sawda · Sultanpur Dabas FAR 200or 400 in corridor

P-II North Delhi / NarelaAkbarpur Majra · Alipur · Bhalswa Dairy · Bijapur · Burari · Gadi Khasro · Ibrahimpur · Jharoda Majra · Kadipur · Kamalpur Majra · Mukhmalpur · Seerapsur · Tikri Khurd FAR 200or 400 in corridor

P-I Narela sub-cityBawana · Tikri Khurd · Holambi Kalan · Holambi Khurd · Shahpur Garhi · Nayabans · Budhpur · Bankner FAR 200or 400 in corridor

Part only. The Master Plan limits pooling in P-I to the unacquired land inside the notified Development Area. If your parcel was already acquired, it is out.

J South DelhiChhattarpur · Mehrauli · Satbari · Devli · Sultanpur and around FAR 200no corridor here

Part only, and no High Density Corridor. UER-II does not pass through Zone J, so the higher FAR 400 route simply is not available. Pooling in J runs on the ordinary framework.

Treat these as a starting point, not a schedule The names come from DDA's own land pooling list, not from the Master Plan, which defines pooling by zone and by Development Area notification and prints no village schedule at all. Several villages are only partly included, and inclusion in a list is not notification. Confirm every parcel against the Development Area notification and the exclusions before you price it.

The official sheet — tap any colour

Map 1, and what the white actually means

The Master Plan is notified with one sheet, Map 1, that colours every square metre of Delhi by permitted use. It is the drawing your scheme is eventually reconciled against, and it is worth being able to read before a site visit rather than after one.

Tap anywhere and it will name the colour under your finger — what it permits and where in Delhi you find it. Or tap a name in the list underneath to isolate that one use across the whole city.

For assembly, the colour that matters is white. The white patches inside the city boundary are the Land Pooling Areas — uncoloured because the use is settled later by the approved scheme rather than fixed in advance. Isolate it and you are looking at roughly 200 km², which is the entire opportunity on one screen.

Tap the map Anywhere on the sheet. The colour under your finger will be named here — what it permits, and the parts of Delhi where you find it.

Tap a name to isolate it · tap again to show everything

Land Use Plan for Delhi, Map 1, published with the MPD-2047 notification. Colours and categories are the plan's own. Letters mark the 17 planning zones, lettered A to P with no zone I.

Reading it as a developer, not as a landowner Three things on this sheet change what a parcel is worth to you. White is the pooling area itself. The pale cream band around Delhi's border is the Low Density Area — about 150 km², and explicitly outside the HDC policy under cl. 4.3.2, so a corridor strategy dies there. And the greens and blues — notified forests, regional parks, natural drains, water bodies — are four of the seven pooling exclusions, drawn to scale. An assembly that looks contiguous on a revenue map can be cut in half by a drain that only shows up here.

What this map cannot tell you Map 1 shows land use. It does not show Development Area notification, acquisition status in P-I, Lal Dora boundaries, unauthorised colonies, or the 250 m HDC band — that is Map 4. A parcel can sit in a white patch and still be ineligible on any of those. Use this to shortlist, and DDA to confirm.

Diligence register

What kills a parcel, in order of how often it does

HighExcluded land inside your assembly Seven categories are carved out entirely: identified unauthorised colonies, Lal Dora and extended Lal Dora, government projects already cleared, notified forests / regional parks / natural drains / water bodies / wetlands, government-owned or scheme land, heritage sites, and notified non-conforming industrial and godown clusters. Any of these inside a block breaks contiguity as well as area.

HighDevelopment Area not notified The chapter applies only to land notified as Development Area. Zone membership alone commits nothing.

MediumTitle, encumbrance and possession Parcels must be free of all encumbrances, with lawful ownership and physical possession. All three, per owner, across every parcel in the assembly.

MediumDevelopment Charges are recovered from landowners Scheme cost is calculated and recovered as DC; DDA and the service agencies build against that payment. The 60:40 is a land settlement, not free infrastructure. Rates sit in the Regulations, which the plan defers to throughout — so this is a real line with no published number yet.

MediumP-I is limited to unacquired land Already-acquired parcels in P-I are outside the policy. Check acquisition status before pricing anything there.

WatchOverlapping TOD zone TOD covers ~200 km² along metro, RRTS, rail and HSR. A TOD plot needs 2,000 m², carries base FAR 400 to a maximum 500, and FAR beyond 400 costs Additional FAR Charges on top of TOD charges. The mix is prescribed, not chosen: a minimum 65% of total permissible FAR must be residential dwelling units under 60 sqm carpet (guest house and studio apartments count), a minimum 10% local-level commercial and amenities, and only the remaining 25% is free for units of any size or offices. And TOD charges are payable on the full base 400 whether or not it is used. Read “65% residential” as “65% small units” before you model a unit mix.

WatchThe underlying zonal land use is superseded Once a scheme is approved, the land use in the previous Zonal Development Plan stands superseded, and what a plot may be used for is keyed to the width of the road it faces. An old ZDP print is not your answer.

Before you commit capital

Seven questions, in the order they should be asked

#	Question	Ask
1	Is the area notified as Development Area, and on what date?	DDA
2	What percentage of the sector's developable area is pooled today — and how much of it is contiguous?	DDA
3	Does any parcel touch an exclusion — Lal Dora, drain, water body, forest, unauthorised colony?	Revenue records
4	Is every parcel free of encumbrance, with possession as well as title?	Your counsel
5	Does the agreement binding the group meet the “legally enforceable” test for DE status?	Your counsel
6	For a corridor parcel: how does the HDC 50% surrender sit against the pooling 60:40?	DDA
7	What Development Charges, EDC — and on a corridor parcel, HDC Charges under cl. 4.3.3(iii)(d) — will fall due, and when?	DDA / Regulations

Planning a scheme? You will need a plan for every plot in it

That is what we build. Our engine generates Vastu-scored concept layouts across every plot size and facing in a sector — eight facings, ground or stilt, with drawings and DXF — so you can test a layout before the sector is even notified.

Talk to us on WhatsApp

Or see the builder stack. Concept-grade drawings for planning and discussion — a licensed architect must validate any plan before construction. We do not advise on land pooling applications, consortium agreements or acquisition status; for those, DDA and your own professional advisers.