Bhopal, now a concrete tragedy

A realty-friendly new draft Master Plan makes it legal, proposing easy amnesty for controversial violationsNOT IN OUR NAME: Bhopal denizens protesting the presence of traders in residential areasISSUE DATE: Oct 26, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 14:36 IST It looks ideal—vision and oversight all at once. On September 26, Madhya Pradesh unveiled a draft Bhopal Development Plan 2047. It’s a guiding document for what would be allowed or not allowed by way of construction and activity—a sore necessity since the city hasn’t updated its Master Plan since 1995. What’s more, the Supreme Court is keeping watch. The state’s draft-making was lent a decisive turn by an ongoing case, Loganathan vs State of Tamil Nadu, where the court critiqued commercial use of residential areas across India. Nowhere perhaps had that wreaked havoc on civic life as in dainty Bhopal. So, order was returning.