Delhi Master Plan 2047 signals 24-hour zones, metro growth and retail-friendly development rules

Delhi’s proposed Master Plan 2047 outlines 24-hour city zones with round-the-clock metro access, a metro network growing from about 416 km to 695 km, revised road and development norms, and recognition of cloud kitchens—potentially reshaping retail catchments, late-night trade and last-mile delivery.

— Source published Thu, 20 Aug, 2026, 17:32 IST · First seen Thu, 20 Aug, 2026, 17:53 IST · Source Business Today · Latest

What happened

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) · Delhi’s Master Plan 2047 proposes 24-hour zones with round-the-clock metro access, expanded transit, relaxed building rules

Key facts

  • 24-hour city zones
  • Metro network expansion from about 416 km to 695 km by 2047
  • 18-metre internal roads
  • 45-metre right-of-way master trunk roads
  • 2.5-acre FAR/TDR benchmark
  • 180 sq km of Yamuna floodplains and Ridge protected
  • 30-40 lakh new flats planned
  • Projected population of 3.20 crore

Why this matters

Prioritize partnerships or acquisitions in metro-linked retail, cloud-kitchen and urban delivery platforms that can gain early scale in Delhi’s emerging all-hours commercial districts.

What to watch

  • Formal notification and phased implementation timeline for Master Plan 2047.
  • Publication of the 695 km metro expansion route map, station locations, funding approvals and construction milestones.
  • Designation, zoning rules and security/infrastructure standards for 24-hour districts.
  • Changes to FAR, parking, mixed-use, signage and commercial conversion norms around transit corridors.
  • Late-night metro operating commitments and actual ridership after service extensions.
  • Commercial rent escalation, new mall/high-street supply and retailer pre-leasing around proposed stations.
  • Growth in late-night transaction volumes, delivery order density and cloud-kitchen licensing in target zones.
  • Map current and planned metro stations against store sales, delivery orders, competitor density and residential growth to identify future catchments before rents reprice.
  • Prioritize pilot formats near interchange stations and proposed 24-hour districts: compact convenience, late-night F&B, pharmacy, entertainment-adjacent retail and pickup-enabled stores.
  • Extend operating-hour experiments selectively, with security, staffing, transport and demand thresholds rather than blanket 24-hour openings.
  • Build a cloud-kitchen and dark-store location strategy alongside physical retail expansion to protect share in newly connected neighborhoods.
  • Negotiate leases with phased rent escalations, exclusivity rights and expansion options in planned mixed-use and transit-oriented developments.