From Hauz Khas to SDA: Delhi’s posh colonies have stolen your footpaths

Inside Hauz Khas Enclave, yet another posh South Delhi neighbourhood, there’s a sense of calm and quiet affluence. Thanks to the good roads flanked by opulent houses, the serene shade of tall trees, and the metal barricades blocking the streets in the area. But this illusion begins to crack the moment you try to walk on the footpaths.  

Despite its sheen, Hauz Khas Enclave is hardly pedestrian-friendly, Newslaundry found during its visit to the area’s K block. Concrete driveways pour out of the main gates of houses and onto footpaths, forcing pedestrians to step onto the road, where they have to dodge speeding cars. The situation was similar in the adjacent Safdarjung Development Area (SDA) and Shivalik Colony. 

Hauz Khas Enclave

Between the 1940s and 1950s, Jat farmers in Delhi settled on land previously occupied by Muslim families who migrated to Pakistan during the Partition. After 1947, as the government began categorising land in Delhi as either agricultural or residential, areas like Hauz Khas posed a challenge for classification due to their ambiguous nature; they didn’t fit neatly into either category but were home to strong rural communities. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hauz Khas Village experienced a revival as it was gradually developed into a residential and commercial hub.

Today, land in the upscale Hauz Khas Enclave is priced at a premium cost of approximately Rs 2.5 lakh per square metre, making it one of the costliest places to live in Delhi.  

However, just beyond Gate Number 3 in the enclave’s K block, the first 120 metres of footpaths are encroached by concrete driveways. Footpaths, as per guidelines laid down by the Indian Roads Congress, should be at least 1.8 metres wide. Instead, what remains is a fragmented walking surface, with broken tiles, uneven cement, and occasional patches of grass. Pedestrians are forced to navigate these obstacles by stepping onto the road itself, where cars casually speed past, unconcerned. 

In Hauz Khas Enclave’s K Block alone, Newslaundry found five lanes, each one guilty of footpath encroachment. Together, these lanes accounted for a staggering 534 metres of lost pedestrian space. In one lane alone, nine houses had encroached 144 metres, averaging 16 metres per house, mostly with private ramps and polished driveways that sweep across public land like an extension of pride. The remaining four lanes, with 33 houses, consumed an additional 390 metres of a footpath.

Around one-third of Delhi’s neighbourhoods don’t have easy access to public bus stops within a 500-metre radius, the benchmark for walkable access set under India’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) policy, according to a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), an independent environmental research organisation.

Encroachment woes in SDA 

Just beyond Hauz Khas lies Safdarjung Development Area. Developed in the 1960s by the Delhi Development Authority as part of the city’s grand South Delhi expansion, SDA was once a symbol of planned living. Today, it feels more like a showroom of personal takeovers.

SDA is quieter, more inward-looking. Large bougainvillea bushes spill over boundary walls, and the streets are lined with parked SUVs and bikes. On paper, this is an organised neighbourhood – six blocks, 410 plots, and green belts crisscrossing through its heart. But a walk through the colony tells a different story.

In Blocks C1, C2, and C3, where Newslaundry focused its visit, driveways and ramps have overpowered the roads. In C1, 30 houses across two lanes (out of 70 total) had encroached 260 metres of pedestrian space. In C2, 19 houses in three lanes added 230 metres to the figure. And in C3, all 20 houses in two lanes had encroached at least 99 metres of the road.

The walking experience here is stifling. In many places, you’re left with just a sliver of space, barely wide enough for a single person, forget wheelchairs, prams, or space for the elderly.

Bhavna Gupta, coordinator GK assembly – United Residents of Delhi, a group of RWAs in Delhi, says, “It is the responsibility of the residents as to why they should extend driveways or park on footpaths. The responsibility then extends to RWAs. If the first ever violation was called out, maybe other encroachments might not have happened so frequently”. 

IRC defines footpath as, “A footpath is a path for pedestrians that is situated alongside a road or a paved pathway. Footpaths should be regarded as a transportation system/network, which is connected and continuous, just like roadways and railways. They should not be sporadically placed, but instead should be provided consistently”. However, a walk around these colonies tells a different story. 

Shivalik Colony

Ten minutes away from SDA is Shivalik Colony, built in the 1990s. The current cost of land here is Rs 2.5 lakh per square metre. With its three blocks – A, B, and C – the colony might appear newer, more angular in design, but the fundamentals remain the same: wide driveways and no room for pedestrians.

Block A, with its 338 plots, was where Newslaundry observed seven lanes. In one lane, five houses had encroached on 42 metres of the road. Another had 11 houses that ate up 75 metres. A third had 21 houses with 125 metres of encroachment. More lanes followed: seven houses with 110 metres, 14 with 105 metres, four with 30 metres, and 10 houses consuming 55 metres. In total, 72 houses in A Block had 542 metres of encroached public footpath.

But it's in Block C where things feel even more suffocating. The houses, double-storied, often newly painted, have large sloped ramps that extend like tongues onto the public road. One lane with nine houses had encroached 65 metres of the road. Another with 10 houses had taken up 81 metres. A third lane had another 10 houses encroaching 65 metres, totalling 29 houses and 211 metres of encroachment.

Walking in Shivalik feels like a negotiation. You dodge parked scooters, step around flower pots placed to subtly mark territory, and climb over ramps that seem better suited to cars than people. Security guards stand at gates, alert and stern, ensuring that no stranger sets foot on the private territory. Ironically, they’re guarding land that was never private to begin with.

The IRC enlists nine parameters that affect the quality of service of a footpath, of which six are physical in nature: footpath width, footpath surface, obstruction, encroachment, potential of vehicular conflict, and continuity. Shivalik Colony’s footpaths wouldn't qualify as per this checklist. The other three factors are pedestrian volume, security, comfort and walking environment. 

Shiv Parthasarathy, Shivalik Colony A block RWA’s president, says, “We are concerned about the welfare of the residents, but when it comes to footpaths, I have a question: Where is the footpaths in the master plan? That is the first step”. 

According to the Integrated Road Accident Database, in 2024, Hauz Khas saw 36 accidents, of which five were fatal, in which five people were killed, five were grievously injured, and 28 got minor injuries. In Malviya Nagar, the total accidents were 17 and two were fatal, killing two people, while nine were grievously injured and six had minor injuries. 

Experts speak

Dr PSN Rao, former director, School of Planning and Architecture, says, “It is not only in elite colonies, it is almost in all colonies in all cities in India, footpaths are not designed as per the standards. Sometimes, space for footpaths is left but not properly developed.  The reasons could be several. Lack of awareness, inadequate funds, lack of local pressure or demand for footpaths, etc. General apathy and inaction also contribute to the state of affairs.  Even if space is provided or some rudimentary footpath is provided, the same is encroached upon by cars, hawkers or footpath dwellers”. 

He adds, “The authorities are certainly biased towards cars and car owners than the bus rider or metro rider who has to become a pedestrian for last-mile connectivity.  Urban planning is about inclusivity and localised planning and design.  However, the authorities who are supposed to plan, design, implement and maintain these infrastructure elements are not alive to the current thinking on the subject”.  

Somi Chatterjee, principal conservation architect at Creative Footprints – a collaborative practice focused on contemporary issues to improve our built environments and communities – explains: “In most elite colonies, residents not only evade repercussions for breaking the law but are also typically those you would report for violations. However, the footpaths near their homes are rarely used by the residents themselves or their families. Many elite colonies have RWAs that, depending on their influence, install gates, block public roads and even create spaces such as dead ends for on-road parking. Examples include Jor Bagh, Kaka Nagar, Defence Colony, and Vasant Vihar. The elite wield enough power to manipulate legal processes, as they occupy roles of lawmaker, executor, planner, and enforcer. It’s a classic NIMBY issue.”

NIMBY (not in my back yard) refers to a situation where people support a particular development or policy in general, but oppose it when it directly affects their own area or interests.

“For instance, the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court both have designated parking areas, yet staff often park in double rows on the street instead,” Chatterjee adds. 

Hauz Khas and the Safdarjung Development Area fall under the Hauz Khas MCD ward. Local councillor Kamal Bhardwaj shared, “We are planning enforcement drives in these colonies, and the process is underway. The problem is that ramps and driveways here are encroachments that have existed for 10 or 15 years without complaints. Now, as issues surface, we’re putting strategies in place to remove them.”

Shivalik Colony comes under the jurisdiction of Malviya Nagar MCD. The councillor of the area, Leena Kumar, has been sent questions for a response. This article will be updated once a response is received.  

Newslaundry has reached out to Jitendra Yadav, additional commissioner of MCD South Zone, and Sumit Kumar, Director, Directorate of Press and Information, MCD, for comments. The report will be updated if they respond.

This story is part of our latest Sena project that tracks how elite Indians take over public spaces in urban India. From Delhi to Chennai, Bengaluru to Hyderabad, our reporters will track the worst offenders, the laws being broken, and the price that’s paid by the public – and you.

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