Delhi’s posh colonies show how to privatise public space – one footpath at a time

Guard booths outside houses are common in upscale neighbourhoods. They are encroachments, really. But unlike other areas, where these booths are made of wood with rolling tyres, in Jor Bagh, they are permanent concrete structures. 

“Where such rich people live, they have to make sure they have enough security, hence us and the security guard booths”, says Kishore*, a guard sitting in one such booth in Jor Bagh. 

Jor Bagh is an elite residential neighbourhood developed in the mid-20th century. Known for its charm and elegance, the area features broad streets, well-maintained parks, and convenient connectivity to the Delhi Metro. Its location offers proximity to some of the city’s finest museums and easy access to the diplomatic hub of Chanakyapuri. Plot sizes in the colony range from 375 to 1,400 square yards, with more than 233 plots in total. 

Newslaundry visited 16 lanes of the colony. Of the total 233 plots in these lanes, at least 86 houses had encroached upon 1,548 metres of area meant for footpaths.

In the first group of four lanes, the encroachment measured 37 metres, 30 metres, 80 metres, and 60 metres, totalling 207 metres across 19 houses. In the second group of four lanes, the encroachment figures were 54 metres, 57 metres, 43 metres, 75 metres, 83 metres, and 110 metres, making up 422 metres across 22 houses. The third lane recorded encroachments of 83 metres and 40 metres, amounting to 123 metres across 8 houses. The same lane saw at least 11 cars parked on the space meant for the footpath.  

The fourth lane had a house encroaching 25 metres of a footpath, while the fifth lane had six houses, all with security guard booths, encroaching 115 metres of footpath. At least three of them are concrete in nature. In the sixth group of three lanes, the encroachment measured 100 metres, 96 metres, and 90 metres, totalling 286 metres of encroachment across 13 houses. The seventh lane had eight houses encroaching 190 metres of footpath, and finally, the eighth lane showed 180 metres of encroachment by nine houses. 

For at least two lanes that Newslaundry visited, footpaths were partially encroached by security guard booths; 1.8 metres of the footpath was free to walk upon. 

Uneven footpaths were prevalent across all these lanes. At least 15 houses modified the footpaths to match the height of their driveways. According to the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), footpaths must have a uniform height above ground level for uninterrupted pedestrian movement. 

Potted plants lined the boundary walls of houses across all lanes. While an unsuspecting violation, they heavily encroach on the footpath space. 

Residents went a step ahead in Sarita Vihar, another elite colony in Delhi. They turned the entire space beside their main gates into gardens with lush trees, flower plants and metal boundaries to protect them. 

Sarita Vihar has 13 blocks, and Newslaundry visited three of these. In the H block, H and J pockets have 580 dwelling units. 

In two lanes, 39 dwelling units had encroached upon 134 metres of footpath space with plants and private gardens. In the F and G pockets that have a total of 900 dwellings, Newslaundry visited 4 lanes. A total of 402 metres of encroachment exists for 115 dwelling units. In B Pocket, which has 574 dwelling units, there are 61 dwellings encroached upon 210 metres of footpath space. 

According to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) layout plan, the colony’s roads include both stretches – over and under 12 metres in width. The Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) guidelines state: “If the kerb-to-kerb carriageway width is 11 metres or narrower, periodic pedestrian refuges should be added to enhance safety.”

However, when Newslaundry visited the colony, no such pedestrian refuges were found. On roads wider than 12 metres, the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) mandates that “the width of sidewalks depends on the expected pedestrian flow, but shall not be less than 1.5 metres.”

A study by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIPC) at IIT Delhi, conducted in partnership with University College London, found that 12 out of 15 pedestrian environments in Delhi were rated unsafe. It recommended measures such as clearing footpaths of parked vehicles and designating vendor zones as part of pedestrian planning. The study highlighted issues including high traffic speeds and volumes, lack of crossings near bus stops, vehicles parked on walkways, encroachment by two-wheelers and cars, absence of guardrails, and poor lighting.

Abhaya Jha, an independent researcher on safe and sustainable transport and a research fellow at the University of Queensland and IIT Delhi, told Newslaundry that Delhi’s problem is not the absence of footpaths but their poor condition. “There is a manhole which is open, the surface is broken – it’s not easy to walk on it,” he said.

“Pedestrians and two-wheelers together account for 80 to 85 percent of accidental deaths,” Jha added. “Around 70 percent of pedestrians killed are hit by two-wheelers. These users are sharing the same space.”

Hitesh Vaidya, director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, said: “In a city like Delhi, where approximately 34 percent of daily trips are undertaken on foot, unobstructed pedestrian infrastructure is not merely a design consideration – it is a constitutional and public health imperative. Projects like the Smart Streets initiative in Chennai and pedestrian plazas in Pune and Varanasi illustrate the transformative impact of prioritising non-motorised users.”

He added that despite clear IRC standards, such as maintaining a minimum 1.2-metre pedestrian clearance, enforcement remains inconsistent in Delhi. 

“This inconsistency stems from weak inter-agency coordination, political pressures, and inadequate institutional accountability. Cities like Ahmedabad and Surat have embedded IRC norms into street design and enforce them rigorously. Delhi can draw from such models to ensure pedestrian-friendly infrastructure across all neighbourhoods,” he said.

The High Powered Committee on Decongesting Delhi has recommended that “encroachment of footpaths shall be a cognizable offence under the Municipal Act.”

A member of the Jor Bagh Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) said, “There are a few houses with minor encroachments on footpath space, but it’s not a major issue inside the colony. The MCD occasionally removes such encroachments.”

In contrast, Rajesh Verma, general secretary of the Sarita Vihar B Block RWA, said, “Of the 574 dwellings, almost all those on the ground floor have encroached on footpath space. Even RWA members are among those involved, so there’s little action to remove these.”

While Jor Bagh falls under the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Sarita Vihar is under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). 

Newslaundry sent questions to NDMC councillor Neetu, MCD South Zone additional commissioner Jitendra Yadav, and Sumit Kumar, director of the Directorate of Press and Information, MCD and NDMC. This report will be updated if they respond.

This report is part of our ongoing series on how elites take over public spaces in urban India. We have extensively reported on encroachments on pavements in Delhi and Bangalore. Click here to contribute for more reports like this.