New projects need not conform to height of older DDA flats in vicinity: Delhi HC clears Vasant Kunj high‑rise

The Delhi High Court recently upheld the sanction for a group housing project in Vasant Kunj, rejecting challenges by a local resident welfare association and a neighbouring school which argued the high‑rise would distort the area’s low‑rise character and violate planning norms [Vasant Kunj Residents Welfare Association v. Government of NCT, Delhi & Ors].Justice Shail Jain said that the Master Plan of national capital does not contemplate perpetual freezing of height of buildings, and new buildings need not match/ conform to the older height restrictions applicable to the flats in vicinity.“Delhi is a land-constrained metropolitan city facing continuous demographic pressure, rapid urbanisation and an ever-increasing demand for residential accommodation. The availability of developable urban land is inherently limited. It is precisely for this reason that MPD-2021 consciously promotes optimal utilisation of available urban land through planned redevelopment, Group Housing and calibrated vertical development, particularly in areas already supported by existing infrastructure and civic amenities,” the Court said..The project under challenge had an overall height of about 30–33 metres in the midst of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) self-financing schemes flats that are roughly 12 metres high.The Vasant Kunj Residents Welfare Association and Masonic Public School argued that this ‘vertical leap’ violated the 2018 DDA Regulations, which requires conformity with surrounding development. It was submitted that authorities could not permit towers nearly three times taller than existing buildings..The Court, however, held that “conformity” does not mean that every new structure must mirror the exact height of neighbouring buildings. “The fact that such structures were originally developed at comparatively lower height and density levels cannot operate as an absolute or perpetual restriction prohibiting all future intensification of residential development within planned urban areas,” the Bench held..It accepted the DDA’s stand that comparable multi‑storeyed developments already exist within the broader Vasant Kunj scheme.“So long as the proposed development remains within the discipline of statutory planning controls and is subjected to adequate environmental and infrastructural safeguards, the objective of planned urban development cannot be defeated merely because the proposed structures are taller or denser than certain older surrounding developments,” the Court said..The Court relied on clarifications from DDA’s Technical Committee that the Master Plan for Delhi - 2021 imposes no independent height cap of the kind asserted by the association and the school.It underscored that MPD‑2021 consciously encourages calibrated vertical growth in a land‑constrained city like Delhi.“It is reiterated that the surrounding development largely pertains to an earlier phase of urban planning and cannot operate as a perpetual restriction freezing all future development to the same height parameters irrespective of subsequent planning policy and statutory evolution,” the judge observed. .The resident association and school also alleged violations of MPD‑2021, environmental and civic norms citing safety risks on the sole internal access road, construction noise and pollution in a notified silence zone. The developers and authorities maintained that the subject plot forms part of an integrated layout and that all statutory clearances were obtained for it..The Court agreed with their interpretation of planning norms and thus declined to quash the official approvals for the project. It held that no patent illegality or arbitrariness was shown to warrant judicial intervention..Senior Advocate Ajay Verma with advocates Shreyuss Shankar Joshi, Shresth Arya, Madhav Bhatia, Anisha Awasthi, Amisha and Muskan Aggarwal appeared for the resident welfare association. Advocates Sanjay Kumar Pathak, Sunil Kumar Jha, MS Akhtar, Kushagra Dixit appeared for Delhi government. Senior Advocate Vibha Mahajan with advocates Eshna Kumar, Mahima, M. Poudiuwibou and Piyush Tandon appeared for the public school.Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia with advocates Devika Mohan, Aakash Sehrawat, Cyril, Dipanshu Gaba, and Dhruv Negi appeared for the developer. Advocates Prabhasahay Kaur and Aditya Verma appeared for Delhi Development Authority.Senior Advocate Ajjay Aroraa with advocates Vikas Chopra, Neeraj Kumar and Vansh Luthra appeared for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. .[Read Judgment]