Abstract

In 1993, 1,639 unauthorised colonies applied for regularisation in Delhi in response to a government scheme. In doing so, they sought to make a familiar move within southern urbanism. Years after having ‘illegally’ converted rural land into urban residential neighbourhoods, these colonies (as they are colloquially and officially called) sought to enter the master plan post-facto. Conversion fees were levied, applications accepted, and in two waves of regularisation in 2009 and 2013, almost all of the colonies were made legal. They found their way onto the master plan; titles found their way to the registries. Yet, in Delhi’s planning system, these colonies still belong to a particular category. They are termed as ‘Regularised-Unauthorised Colonies’. In their name, they are forever reminded that their journey into legality was via, shall we say, a detour.