The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs issued a notification on July 2 amending the Schedule of the NCRPB Act, 1985, to update the list of Rajasthan districts and tehsils forming part of the National Capital Region (NCR). The revision aligns the statutory boundaries with Rajasthan's newly constituted districts—Khairthal-Tijara and Deeg—while reaffirming the existing geographical extent of the NCR.
No Expansion, Only Alignment
The notification explicitly states that the changes do not amount to an expansion of the NCR. Instead, they legally reflect the state's district reorganisation undertaken after the previous notification. The overall development plan for the region remains unchanged.
This follows the June 16 meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB), where Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the existing NCR boundaries would be retained under the proposed Regional Plan-2041, despite discussions on restructuring the planning framework.
New Districts Recognised
The notification formally includes the newly created Khairthal-Tijara and Deeg districts within the NCR. These areas were previously part of Alwar and Bharatpur districts, respectively. The descriptions of Alwar and Bharatpur districts have been updated to reflect their current tehsil boundaries.
For the newly carved Kotputli-Behror district, the notification retains Behror, Neemrana, Bansur, Mandan, and Narayanpur tehsils within the NCR, while excluding Kotputli, Viratnagar, and Pavta tehsils.
Regional Plan-2041 Vision Intact
The Centre left intact the ambitious planning proposals unveiled during the board meeting. Under the proposed Regional Plan-2041, the NCR will accommodate nearly seven crore additional people by 2041, with development shifting away from Delhi through a decentralised regional growth model.
Four Namo Cities are proposed as semi-greenfield, mixed-use transit-oriented developments along existing and proposed Namo Bharat corridors. These cities will be selected competitively from proposals by Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, backed by a Rs 5,000-crore performance-linked incentive package.
Focus on Transit-Oriented Development
The draft plan envisages concentrating future urbanisation around high-capacity public transport corridors instead of unchecked outward sprawl, making the Regional Rapid Transit System the backbone of future growth nodes.
Officials indicated that the Regional Plan proposes dividing the NCR into three planning zones, with pollution-control restrictions expected to focus primarily on Delhi and adjoining Central NCR, while peripheral districts farther from the Capital would not automatically face identical restrictions. The board rejected Haryana's proposal to remove five peripheral districts from the NCR, reiterating that the region's geographical extent would remain intact.
Green Cover and Clean Vehicles
Alongside urban expansion, the board approved a framework to increase regional green cover through innovative mechanisms such as green canopy credits and transferable special development rights. It also announced the proposed PARIVARTAN scheme to replace ageing BS-IV and older commercial vehicles with cleaner BS-VI, CNG, and electric alternatives across the NCR.
The Regional Plan-2041 itself has not yet been notified. The board resolved to complete remaining administrative formalities before issuing the final plan. The July 2 notification therefore serves as a statutory housekeeping exercise that updates Rajasthan's legal NCR boundaries ahead of the rollout of the new regional planning framework, without altering the vision or geographical footprint of the forthcoming Regional Plan.
