The Delhi Development Act, 1957 – Sections and full text – Page 4

Section 51 Protection of action taken in good faith.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rule or regulation made thereunder.

Section 52 Power to delegate.

²[(1)] The Authority may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act except the power to make regulations may also be exercised by such officer or local authority [or committee constituted under section 5A] as may be mentioned therein, in such cases and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified therein.

³[(2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act, except the power to make rules, may also be exercised by such officer as may be mentioned therein, in such cases and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified therein.

(3) The ¹[Lieutenant Governor] of the ⁴[National capital territory of Delhi] may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by him under this Act ⁵[, except the power to hear appeals,] may also be exercised by such officer as may be mentioned therein, in such cases and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified therein.]

¹. Subs. by Act 36 of 1996, s. 2, for "Administrator" (w.e.f. 21-12-1996).

². Section 52 renumbered as sub-section (1) of that section by Act 56 of 1963, s. 23 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

³. Ins. by s. 24, ibid. (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

⁴. Subs. by Act 36 of 1996, s. 2, for "Union territory of Delhi" (w.e.f. 21-12-1996).

⁵. Ins. by Act 38 of 1984, s. 10 (w.e.f. 24-2-1986).

Section 53 Effect of other laws.

(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the operation of the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956 (6 of 1956).

(2) ¹[Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (4) of section 30 or sub-section (8) of section 31 or sub-section (1)' of this section, the provisions of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any such other law--

(a) when permission for development in respect of any land has been obtained under this Act such development shall not be deemed to be unlawfully undertaken or carried out by reason only of the fact that permission, approval or sanction required under such other law for such development has not been obtained;

(b) when permission for such development has not been obtained under this Act, such development shall not be deemed to be lawfully undertaken or carried out by reason only of the fact that permission, approval or sanction required under such other law for such development has been obtained.

¹. Subs. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 25, for "Save as aforesaid" (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

Section 53A Restriction on power of a local authority to make rules, regulations or bye-laws in respect of certain matters.

¹[53A. Restriction on power of a local authority to make rules, regulations or bye-laws in respect of certain matters.-- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no rule, regulation or bye-law shall be made or amended by a local authority in respect of matters specified in sub-section (2) unless the Authority, upon consideration of such rule, regulation or bye-law, certifies that it does not contravene any of the provisions of the master plan or the zonal development plan.

(2) The matters referred to in sub-section (1) are the following, namely:--

(a) water supply, drainage and sewage disposal;

(b) erection and re-erection of buildings, including grant of building permissions, licences and imposition of restrictions on use and sub-division of buildings;

(c) sub-division of land into building sites, roads and lanes, recreational sites and sites for community facilities; and

(d) development of land, improvement schemes, and housing and rehousing schemes.]

¹. Ins. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 26 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

Section 53B Notice to be given of suits.

¹[53B. Notice to be given of suits.--(1) No suit shall be instituted against the Authority, or any member thereof, or any of its officers or other employees, or any person acting under the directions of the Authority or any member or any officer or other employee of the Authority in respect of any act done or purporting to have been done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or regulation made thereunder until the expiration of two months after notice in writing has been, in the case of the Authority, left at its office, and in any other case, delivered to, or left at the office or place of abode of, the person to be sued and unless such notice states explicitly the cause of action, the nature of relief sought, the amount of compensation claimed and the name and place of residence of the intending plaintiff and unless the plaint contains a statement that such notice has been so left or delivered.

(2) No suit such as is described in sub-section (1) shall, unless it is a suit for recovery of immovable property or for a declaration of title thereto, be instituted after the expiry of six months from the date on which the cause of action arises.

(3) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to apply to a suit in which the only relief claimed is an injunction of which the object would be defeated by the giving of the notice or the postponement of the institution of the suit.]

¹. Ins. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 26 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

Section 54 Savings.

Nothing in this Act shall apply to--

(a) the carrying out of works for the maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any building, being works which affect only the interior of the building or which do not materially affect the external appearance of the building;

(b) the carrying out by any local authority or by any department of Government of any works for the purpose of inspecting, repairing or renewing any drains, sewers, mains, pipes, cables or other apparatus including the breaking open of any street or other land for that purpose;

(c) the erection of a building, not being a dwelling house if such building is required for the purposes subservient to agriculture;

(d) the erection of a place of worship or a tomb or cenotaph or of a wall enclosing a graveyard, place of worship, cenotaph or samadhi on land which at the commencement of this Act is occupied by or for the purpose of such worship, tomb, cenotaph, graveyard or samadhi;

(e) the excavations (including wells) made in the ordinary course of agricultural operations; and

(f) the construction of unmetalled road intended to give access to land solely for agricultural purposes.

Section 55 Plans to stand modified in certain cases.

(1) Where any land situated in any area in Delhi is required by the master plan or a zonal development plan to be kept as an open space or unbuilt upon or is designated in any such plan as subject to compulsory acquisition, then, if at the expiration of ten years from the date of operation of the plan under section 11 or where such land has been so required or designated by any amendment of such plan, from the date of operation of such amendment, the land is not compulsorily acquired ¹***, the owner of the land may ²[serve on the Central Government a notice] requiring his interest in the land to be so acquired.

(2) ³[If the Central Government] fails to acquire the land within a period of six months from the date of receipt of the notice, the master plan or, as the case may be, the zonal development plan shall have effect, after the expiration of the said six months as if the land were not required to be kept as an open space or unbuilt upon or were not designated as subject to compulsory acquisition.

¹. Certain words omitted by Act 56 of 1963, s. 27 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

². Subs. by s. 27, ibid., for "serve on the authority a notice" (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

³. Subs. by s. 27, ibid., for "If the authority for the time being charged with the development of the area" (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

Section 56 Power to make rules. 11 docs

(1) The Central Government, after consultation with the Authority, may by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act:

Provided that consultation with the Authority shall not be necessary on the first occasion of the making of rules under this section, but the Central Government shall take into consideration any suggestions which the Authority may make in relation to the amendment of such rules after they are made.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:--

(a) the manner of election of representatives of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under clause (e) of sub-section (3) of section 3;

(b) the qualifications and disqualifications for being chosen as, and for being, members of the Authority or the Advisory Council;

(c) the salaries, allowances and conditions of service of the whole-time paid members of the Authority;

¹[(cc) travelling and other allowances of the members of the Advisory Council except those of the ex officio member and such other members as are Government servants;]

(d) the control and restrictions in relation to appointment of officers and other employees;

²[(dd) the stages by which the development of any particular features of a zone may be carried out;]

(e) the form and content of the master plan and a zonal development plan and the procedure to be followed in connection with the preparation, submission and approval of such plans and the form, and the manner of publication, of the notice relating to any such plan in draft;

(f) the local inquiries and other hearings that may be held before a plan is approved;

³[(g) the form and manner in which notice under sub-section (3) of section 11A shall be published;]

(h) the fee to be paid on an application for permission under sub-section (1) of section 13 and the factors and circumstances to be taken into consideration in determining such fee;

⁴* * * * *

(j) the manner in which nazul lands shall be dealt with after development;

⁵[(jj) the procedure to be observed by the ⁶[ Lieutenant Governor] under section 30 or section 31;

(jjj) the factors to be taken into consideration in determining the rate of betterment charge in respect of property situate in any area outside the development area;]

⁷[(ja) the manner in which the sealing of any development under sub-section (1) of section 31A shall be made;

⁸[(jaa) the manner of holding an inquiry and imposing penalties under sub-section (1) of section 31AA;

(jab) the form and manner of preferring appeal to the appellate authority against the order of adjudicating officer under sub-section (2) of section 31AA;]

(jb) the form in which an appeal shall be made to the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (3) of section 31C and the fees that shall accompany such appeal;]

(k) the procedure for referring any matter to the Central Government under section 36 for settlement of terms and conditions subject to which a local authority may be required to assume responsibility for amenities in any area;

(l) the procedure to be followed by arbitrators in the determination of betterment charge;

(m) the sum of money that may be kept in current account;

⁵[(mm) the procedure to be followed for borrowing moneys by way of loans or debentures and their repayment;]

(n) the form of the budget of the Authority and the manner of preparing the same;

(o) the form of the balance-sheet and statement of accounts;

(p) the form of the annual report and the date on or before which it shall be submitted to the Central Government;

(q) the manner of constitution of the pension and provident funds for whole-time paid members and officers and other employees of the Authority and the conditions subject to which such funds may be constituted;

(r) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed by rules.

1. Ins. by Act 4 of 1976, s. 2 (w.e.f. 24-1-1976).

2. Ins. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 28 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

3. Subs. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 28, for clause (g) (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

4. Omitted by s. 28, ibid. (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

5. Ins. by s. 28, ibid. (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

6. Subs. by Act 36 of 1996, s. 2, for "Administrator" (w.e.f. 21-12-1996).

7. Ins. by Act 38 of 1984, s. 11 (w.e.f. 24-2-1986).

8. Ins. by Act 8 of 2026, s. 2 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-8-2026)

Section 57 Power to make regulations.

(1) ¹[The Authority, with the previous approval of the Central Government, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make regulations] consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder, to carry out the purposes of this Act, and without prejudice to the generality of this power, such regulations may provide for--

(a) the summoning and holding of meetings of the Authority, the time and place where such meetings are to be held, the conduct of business at such meetings and the number of members necessary to form a quorum thereat;

²[(aa) the summoning and holding of meetings of a committee constituted under section 5A, the time and place where such meetings are to be held, the conduct of business at such meetings, and the number of members necessary to form a quorum thereat and the fees and allowances payable to the members for attending the meetings or any other work of the Authority;]

(b) the powers and duties of the secretary and chief accounts officer of the Authority;

(c) the salaries, allowances and conditions of service of the secretary, chief accounts officer and other officers and employees;

(d) the procedure for the carrying out of the functions of the Authority under Chapter III;

(e) the form in which any application for permission under sub-section (1) of section 13 shall be made and the particulars to be furnished in such application;
(f) the terms and conditions subject to which user of lands and buildings in contravention of plans may be continued;
³* * * * *
(h) the manner of communicating the grounds of refusal of permission for development;
(i) the form of the register of applications for permission and the particulars to be contained in such register;
(j) the management of the properties of the Authority;
(k) the time and manner of payment of betterment charge; and
(l) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed by regulations.
(2) Until the Authority is established under this Act, any regulation which may be made under sub-section (1) may be made by the Central Government; and any regulation so made may be altered or rescinded by the Authority in exercise of its powers under sub-section (1).

¹.Subs. by Act 4 of 1976, s. 3, for certain words (w.e.f. 24-1-1976).

². Ins. by Act 56 of 1963, s. 29 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

³. Omitted by Act 56 of 1963, s. 29 (w.e.f. 30-12-1963).

Section 58 Laying of rules and regulations before Parliament.

¹[58. Laying of rules and regulations before Parliament.--Every rule and every regulation made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after such rule or regulation is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation, or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should not be made, the rule or regulation shall, thereafter, have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or regulation.]

¹. Subs. by Act 4 of 1976, s. 4, for section 58 (w.e.f. 24-1-1976).

Section 59 Dissolution of the Authority.

(1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that the purposes for which the Authority was established under this Act have been substantially achieved so as to render the continued existence of the Authority in the opinion of the Central Government unnecessary, that Government may by notification in the Official Gazette declare that the Authority shall be dissolved with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification; and the Authority shall be deemed to be dissolved accordingly.

(2) From the said date--

(a) all properties, funds and dues which are vested in, or realisable by, the Authority shall vest in, or be realisable by the Central Government;

(b) all nazul lands placed at the disposal of the Authority shall revert to the Central Government;

(c) all liabilities which are enforceable against the Authority shall be enforceable against the Central Government; and

(d) for the purpose of carrying out any development which has not been fully carried out by the Authority and for the purpose of realising properties, funds and dues referred to in clause (a), the functions of the Authority shall be discharged by the Central Government.

Section 60 Repeal, etc., and savings.

(1) As from the date of constitution of the Authority,--

(a) the United Provinces Town Improvement Act, 1919 (U.P. Act VIII of 1919), shall cease to have effect in the ¹[National capital territory of Delhi]; and

(b) the Delhi (Control of Building Operations) Act, 1955 (53 of 1955), shall stand repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1)--

(a) every officer and other employee serving under the Delhi Improvement Trust or the Delhi Development (Provisional) Authority immediately before the date of the constitution of the Authority shall, on and from such date, be transferred to and become an officer or other employee of the Authority with such designations as the Authority may determine and shall hold office by the same tenure, at the same remuneration and on the same terms and conditions of service as he would have held the same if the Authority had not been constituted, and shall continue to do so unless and until such tenure, remuneration and terms and conditions are duly altered by the Authority:

Provided that any service rendered by any such officer or other employee before the constitution of the Authority shall be deemed to be service rendered under it:

Provided further that the Authority may employ any such officer or other employee in the discharge of such functions under this Act as it may think proper and every such officer or other employee shall discharge those functions accordingly;

(b) anything done or any action taken (including any appointment, delegation, notification, order, scheme, permission, rule, bye-law, regulation or form made, granted or issued) under any of the aforesaid Acts, shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, continue in force and be deemed to have been done or taken under the provisions of this Act unless and until it is superseded by anything done or any action taken under the said provisions;

(c) all debts, obligations and liabilities incurred, all contracts entered into and all matters and things engaged to be done by, with or for the Delhi Improvement Trust or the Delhi Development (Provisional) Authority shall be deemed to have been incurred, entered into or engaged to be done by, with or for the Authority;

(d) all properties movable and immovable vested in the Delhi Improvement Trust or the Delhi Development (Provisional) Authority shall vest in the Authority;

(e) all rents, fees and other sums of money due to the Delhi Improvement Trust or the Delhi Development (Provisional) Authority shall be deemed to be due to the Authority;

(f) all suits, prosecutions and other legal proceedings instituted or which might have been instituted by, for or against the Delhi Improvement Trust or the Delhi Development (Provisional) Authority may be continued or instituted by, for or against the Authority.

¹. Subs. by Act 36 of 1996, s. 2, for "Union territory of Delhi" (w.e.f. 21-12-1996).

Section 31AA Adjudication of penalties.

¹[31AA. Adjudication of penalties.—(1) For the purpose of adjudicating penalties under section 29 and sub-section (5) of section 31, the Central Government, shall appoint an officer not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India as an adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry and imposing penalties in such manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Central Government may appoint as many adjudicating officers as may be required:

Provided further that no such penalty shall be imposed without giving the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(2) Any person aggrieved by an order of the adjudicating officer under sub-section (1) may, within thirty days from the date of receipt of such order, prefer an appeal to such officer, at least one rank higher than the adjudicating officer, as may be appointed by the Central Government to be the appellate authority, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

(3) An appeal may be admitted after the expiry of the period of thirty days if the appellant satisfies the appellate authority that he had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period.

(4) The appellate authority may, after giving the parties to the appeal an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as he may think fit.

(5) An appeal under sub-section (2) shall be disposed of within sixty days from the date of filing.

(6) If penalty imposed by the adjudicating officer under sub-section (1) or by an order of the appellate authority under sub-section (4), as the case may be, is not deposited, the amount shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue.]

1. Ins. by Act 8 of 2026, s. 2 and Sch. (w.e.f. 1-8-2026).

Rules, notifications and other documents under this section 11