What Delhi’s TOD policy gets right, what it does not

Transit-oriented development (TOD) rests on three fundamentals: Density, diversity, and design.

- Rutul Joshi

A good TOD neighbourhood is dense enough to support frequent transit, diverse enough to serve all people and activities, and designed in a manner that makes walking to the metro pleasant rather than punishing.Delhi's new Regulations for Transit Oriented Development and Charges, 2026, announced earlier this month, take an important leap forward on density. On diversity and design, however, the policy has serious gaps.

The most important reform is the shift in the policy's approach, from being node-based to corridor-based. The earlier policy required a minimum of eight hectares of developable land for a TOD node — a threshold that effectively locked out most of Delhi's fragmented urban fabric. Switching to the corridor logic and reducing the minimum plot size from one hectare to 2,000 square metres means more landowners, more plots, and more locations now qualify for inclusion. Including 80 square kilometres of previously excluded areas — land pooling zones, low-density residential areas, and unauthorised colonies — is equally significant. These areas are already getting denser, though informally; dealing with that pressure within a planned framework is better than pretending it doesn’t exist.

The single-window clearance and unified TOD charge are also genuine improvements. The earlier policy's insistence on Influence Zone Plans for approval was a procedural bottleneck that killed momentum. One provision deserves particular attention: TOD charges are mandated to flow to a ring-fenced escrow account within a dedicated TOD fund. If this fund is directed towards public-realm improvements in the corridors, the policy could deliver on some of its promise.