Jan Vishwas Bill: Changes made to fines under DDA Act

What Happened

• The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Law and Justice, proposing amendments to multiple central laws including the Delhi Development Act, 1957
• The Bill targets 717 provisions across 79 laws for decriminalisation, significantly expanding on the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which had covered 183 provisions across 42 laws
• Changes under the DDA Act specifically replace imprisonment and small fines for minor violations (such as unauthorised construction or alteration in industrial estates) with scaled civil penalties
• Under the proposed changes: unauthorised construction/alteration in DDA-regulated areas will attract a civil penalty of up to ₹25,000 plus ₹1,000 per day for continuing violations; misuse of industrial land may draw fines of up to ₹10,000 plus ₹500 per day
• The Bill includes an automatic escalation clause: fines shall increase by 10% of the minimum prescribed amount every three years from commencement, keeping penalties economically relevant
• The Bill aims to eliminate jail terms for minor, technical, or procedural violations — replacing the deterrence model with a compliance-and-fine approach consistent with ease of living and doing business objectives

Static Topic Bridges

Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 — The Parent Reform

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (Act No. 18 of 2023) is India's first comprehensive decriminalisation statute targeting business-impeding penal provisions across multiple central laws simultaneously. Notified on August 11, 2023, the Act amended 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries and Departments, decriminalising 183 provisions through four methods: removing both imprisonment and fine for trivial violations; removing imprisonment while retaining the fine; removing imprisonment and enhancing the fine; and converting imprisonment-and-fine penalties to adjudicated civil penalties. The Act was driven by the government's Ease of Doing Business agenda, recognising that many Indian laws retain Victorian-era criminal sanctions for technical non-compliances — provisions that deter investment, crowd criminal courts, and disproportionately burden small enterprises. The 2026 Bill (Jan Vishwas 2.0) dramatically scales up this exercise to 717 provisions across 79 laws.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi Development Act, 1957

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a statutory body established under the Delhi Development Act, 1957 (Act No. 61 of 1957, enacted December 27, 1957), under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Section 6 of the Act mandates the DDA to "promote and secure the development of Delhi according to the plan" and vests it with powers to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of land, carry out construction and engineering operations, and provide urban services. The DDA is responsible for formulating the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) and Zonal Development Plans, and regulates land use, building permissions, and development controls across the National Capital Territory. The Act is structured into eight chapters covering 60 sections, dealing with the DDA's constitution, planning powers, land acquisition and disposal, finance, and penalties for violations. Criminal penalties under the Act have historically been criticised for treating minor unauthorised constructions as criminal offences rather than regulatory infractions.

Decriminalisation and Ease of Doing Business — Policy Framework

India's decriminalisation agenda is part of a broader shift from a compliance-through-punishment model to a compliance-through-incentive model in business regulation. The government has adopted several frameworks to reduce the "compliance burden" on businesses: the National Action Plan for Business Reforms (BRN) identifies state-level regulatory reforms; the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index historically penalised India for lengthy legal procedures and regulatory complexity; and the Report of the Expert Committee on Company Law (Irani Committee) and subsequent amendments to the Companies Act (2013) introduced compounding and adjudication mechanisms in place of criminal prosecution for defaults. The Jan Vishwas approach goes further by legislating away criminal liability for minor infractions in a single omnibus statute rather than amending each law individually.

Key Facts & Data

• Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023: Act No. 18 of 2023; notified August 11, 2023; covers 183 provisions across 42 Acts
• Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026: covers 717 provisions across 79 laws — introduced by MoS for Law and Justice
• Delhi Development Act, 1957: Act No. 61 of 1957; administered by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
• DDA established under Section 3 of the Delhi Development Act, 1957
• DDA's core mandate (Section 6): promote and secure the development of Delhi according to the plan
• Proposed fine for unauthorised construction/alteration in DDA industrial estates: up to ₹25,000 + ₹1,000/day for continuing violation
• Proposed fine for misuse of industrial land: up to ₹10,000 + ₹500/day
• Fine escalation clause: 10% of minimum prescribed amount every 3 years from commencement
• Delhi Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 (Delhi Assembly version): introduced January 9, 2026; covers minor local offences
• Master Plan for Delhi 2041 (MPD 2041) is the operative planning document under the DDA Act