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Business Standard
17 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Policy soon to allow high-rises in Delhi, connect them to metro: Khattar
The Centre is preparing a policy to allow high-rise residential construction in Delhi, aiming to link multi-storey buildings directly to metro stations through elevated walkways, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Thursday. Speaking at the NDTV Real Estate Conclave 2025, Khattar said the proposed linkways — described by him as a 'hanging way' — would ease road congestion by enabling residents to access metro stations without using surface transport. 'For Delhi, we will soon introduce a policy to construct high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings will be connected directly to metro stations with a hanging way, and residents will not need to use roads,' he said. Vertical expansion necessary Khattar added that urbanisation is accelerating while land remains finite, making vertical expansion essential. 'We need to use vertical space. Many cities are adopting Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) under which they are allowing multi-storey buildings along metro lines,' Khattar said. He added that around 60 developers in Gurugram and Faridabad have already secured licences to build such high-rises at key transit points. Currently, under Delhi's Master Plan 2021, residential plots can accommodate buildings up to three storeys without a lift. For taller structures, including high-rises, developers require special permissions from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which has constructed such projects in locations like Kidwai Nagar and parts of Outer Delhi. The upcoming Master Plan of Delhi 2041 proposes to expand vertical construction through the DDA's land pooling policy, allowing ground coverage between 33 per cent, and 50 per cent for residential plots earmarked for vertical development.
News18
18 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Will bring policy to allow construction of high-rise buildings in Delhi: Khattar
Agency: New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that the government will soon bring a policy to allow the construction in Delhi of high-rise buildings and also that the multi-storey buildings will be connected to metro stations with a 'hanging way". By 'hanging way", the minister referred to an elevated passage which will decongest the city's roads. Speaking at the 'NDTV Real Estate Conclave 2025', Khattar said that urbanisation is rapidly increasing and land is a limited resource, adding that there is a need to make the best utilisation of the limited space. 'We need to use vertical space. Many cities are adopting Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) under which they are allowing multi-storey buildings along metro lines," he said. The minister said that around 60 developers have got licences in Gurugram and Faridabad to construct such buildings at the 'nodal point". 'For Delhi, we will soon introduce a policy to construct high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings will be connected directly to metro stations with a hanging way, and residents will not need to use roads," he said. According to the existing Master Plan 2021, only ground plus three-storey buildings can be constructed on a residential plot without a lift. If the plot size is more than 2,000 sqm, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) then gives permission to construct high-rise buildings. For high-rise construction, special permission is also granted by the DDA to private players. The DDA has constructed several high-rise residential projects recently in Kidwai Nagar near AIIMS and some projects in Outer Delhi. Under the draft Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2041, the DDA, in its land pooling policy, has proposed maximum ground coverage for vertical mixing plots for residential areas ranging between 33 per cent and 50 per cent ground coverage. PTI BUN 1.0.0 KSS KSS view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 21:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
We built the rail. But where's the city?
LETTERS: We've built trains. Modern, comfortable, world-class urban rail that connects homes to workplaces, suburbs to city centres, and now, even countries. Over the past 10 years, billions have been invested in rail infrastructure: MRT lines through Kuala Lumpur, LRT extensions, and now the RTS Link to Singapore. There's even talk of reviving the high-speed rail to connect Kuala Lumpur and Singapore again. Alongside this transport revolution, Malaysia has published impressive policies. The National Transport Policy champions sustainable mobility. The Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 lays out a bold vision for walkable, liveable districts. The National Low Carbon Cities Masterplan imagines a future where urban living means less traffic and more people-friendly spaces. These plans all have one thing in common: they promise to centre urban life around rail or what planners call Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD. But if you walk around many of our MRT stations today, what do you see? You'll likely find massive car parks, fenced-off lots, wide arterial roads, and disconnected buildings. Often, the nearest café or daycare is a 10-minute walk and not the nice kind of walk. You'll pass concrete, noise, and sometimes nothing at all. And if you're a wheelchair user or pushing a stroller, good luck. This isn't TOD. This is transport infrastructure without city-building. We've built the rail but not the city. Malaysia doesn't suffer from a lack of vision. Our policies and blueprints are aligned with the global best. The real issue is execution. Institutions remain fragmented. Rules are outdated. Projects are often planned in isolation. And the result is a disconnect between the rail we're building and the lives we're trying to improve. The problem starts at the top. Transport policy is led by the federal government. Land use, however, is controlled by the states. Local councils are caught in between; asked to enforce zoning and approve development, but without the authority or resources to shape big-picture outcomes. Everyone has a role to play, but no one is truly in charge. The federal agencies build the rail. The state decides what happens around it. The local council worries about drains, parking, and complaints. It's a well-intentioned system, but one where integration is often the first casualty. There are processes in place, like the One Stop Centre system, to streamline approvals, but these platforms focus more on form than function. They approve building plans and assess technical documents. What they don't do is get everyone, transport planners, housing authorities, local councils, developers, and the public around the same table from the beginning. Without that kind of early collaboration, we end up with trains that don't connect to homes, and homes that don't connect to anything at all. Then there's the policy gap between what's written and what's enforced. Our national plans are progressive and ambitious. But most are not legally binding. For instance, the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) from 1984 still govern building design in most councils. It mandates high parking requirements even next to MRT stations. It doesn't account for mixed-use developments or reduced car ownership. Developers must comply with outdated rules that run counter to everything TOD stands for. So even if they want to build something better, like car-lite homes, integrated shops, and walkable public space, the regulations pull them back. The housing sector and the transport sector also don't always speak the same language. While rail lines are being planned, land allocation for affordable housing or integrated development often comes later, if at all. Prasarana, for example, sometimes has to purchase land at market rate to build station-area development. In other cases, land is alienated by the state through political channels. There's no clear system. No guaranteed way to say, "This station will anchor a thriving neighbourhood." Instead, every project becomes a negotiation. This ad hoc approach creates uncertainty. For example, why is one station surrounded by condos and a mall, while another is next to an empty field and a highway off-ramp? The answer isn't always technical. It's institutional. In cities like Hong Kong, the rail operator is also the property developer. In Shenzhen, land use rights are tied to metro expansion. But in Malaysia, our agencies operate separately, with separate incentives and separate budgets. So instead of unlocking the full potential of public transport, we leave that value on the table. Even the siting of stations often misses opportunities. Ideally, stations should be located where they can do the most good, like in dense areas, with high walkability and economic activity. But too often, they end up in areas chosen for engineering ease or land availability. This might save costs in the short term, but it weakens long-term city-building. A well-placed station can transform a neighbourhood. A poorly placed one becomes a white elephant. And then there's the quiet, unglamorous issue of parking. You may not think about it much, but parking rules shape our cities more than we realise. In Malaysia, most councils require developers to provide two parking bays per unit, even next to MRT stations. That means more basement levels, higher costs, and more cars. It's a silent subsidy for car use, built right into the planning system. Some leaders have proposed changes, including Transport Minister Anthony Loke, but without coordination between federal and local authorities, reforms stall. Meanwhile, we keep building homes with parking but without access. Even pedestrian access is an afterthought. While major roads get generous budgets and long-term plans, sidewalks are often inconsistent, narrow, or absent altogether. The logic is backwards: we build for cars first, then try to squeeze in pedestrians and cyclists. But in a TOD city, walking is the first mode, not the last. Until we shift this mindset, no amount of rail investment will deliver the urban outcomes we want. And finally, the money. Infrastructure creates value; land around stations appreciates, tax revenues rise, and congestion drops. But we don't capture that value in any structured way. There's no national system for land value capture, no reinvestment framework, and little fiscal incentive for councils to support TOD. Prasarana's "rail plus property" projects like Jelatek or Ara Sentral are promising, but they're not standardised. Local councils, meanwhile, often lack the tools or financing to reinvest the gains from TOD back into the neighbourhood. So what do we do? We need to stop thinking of TOD as a design choice or a real estate model. It is a governance challenge. A legislative challenge. A budgetary challenge. And yes, a cultural one. If we want to get serious about TOD, we must do seven things. We need a dedicated TOD authority, not just for KL but for every urban region where rail investment is happening. We need to modernise the UBBL and introduce zoning overlays that support TOD principles. We need inter-agency housing-transport plans that start from day one and not year five. We need readiness audits to evaluate TOD performance by node, not by district. We need to create fiscal incentives for local councils to lead, not follow. We need a value capture framework that channels land appreciation back into public infrastructure. And most importantly, we need to put people, not cars, at the centre of how we build. TOD is not just about density or design. It's about dignity. It's about giving people the choice to live better; to walk to school, to cycle to work, to spend less on transport, and more on life. We have the policies. We have the rail. What we need now is the political will and the institutional courage to connect the dots. Because the train has arrived. But the city, not quite yet. Wan Agyl Wan Hassa n
The Star
09-07-2025
- The Star
Terengganu, federal govt to discuss maximising ECRL station development benefits
JERTIH: The Terengganu government will engage with the federal government to ensure that Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects at six East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) stations in the state bring maximum benefits to local communities. Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said the discussions will focus on key infrastructure needs, including road upgrades near ECRL stations to encourage greater public access and economic activity. "We will also work with Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and relevant agencies to plan TODs that truly benefit the people. Without proper development, the ECRL offers little value to the community," he said during a working visit to the TOD site at Besut ECRL Station here on Wednesday (July 9). Also present were MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak and state infrastructure, utilities and rural development committee chairman Datuk Hanafiah Mat. Ahmad Samsuri added that as of June, ECRL construction in Terengganu had reached 91.79% completion, the fastest progress among the four states, ahead of Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan. The MB also urged local communities, especially Village Development and Security Committees (JPKK), to act as the authorities' "eyes and ears" to help prevent theft, particularly of cables, along the ECRL route - an issue that could delay project completion. Meanwhile, Darwis said several measures have been taken, including deploying security personnel to hotspots and increasing police patrols. "We're closely monitoring the situation and are thankful for the support from multiple agencies. Raising awareness about cable theft has made everyone more vigilant," he said. Previously, MRL had raised concerns about cable thefts at several ECRL sections across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor. Transport Minister Anthony Loke also called for firm action by the police, warning that such incidents could disrupt the project timeline. - Bernama
The Sun
09-07-2025
- The Sun
Terengganu discusses ECRL station development benefits with federal govt
JERTIH: The Terengganu government will hold discussions with the federal government to maximise the benefits of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects at six East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) stations in the state. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar emphasised the need for infrastructure improvements, including road upgrades near stations, to boost accessibility and economic growth. 'We will work closely with Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and other agencies to ensure TOD projects truly benefit the people. Without proper planning, the ECRL's impact on communities will be limited,' he said during a visit to the Besut ECRL Station TOD site. Also present were MRL CEO Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak and State Infrastructure Committee chairman Datuk Hanafiah Mat. Ahmad Samsuri noted that Terengganu leads in ECRL construction progress, reaching 91.79 per cent completion as of June, ahead of Selangor, Pahang, and Kelantan. He urged local communities, particularly Village Development and Security Committees (JPKK), to assist in preventing cable thefts along the rail route, which could delay the project. Darwis confirmed that security measures, including increased patrols and personnel deployment, are in place to curb theft. 'We appreciate the cooperation from various agencies. Public awareness campaigns have also improved vigilance,' he said. Transport Minister Anthony Loke previously called for stricter police action against cable theft, warning of potential project delays. - Bernama
