The Modi government has divided the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) into two departments, creating a new unit focused on Delhi and the National Capital Region. The change transfers responsibility for managing lands and buildings in Delhi, except those under the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Railways, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, to the new department. MoHUA is led by Cabinet Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Minister of State Tokhan Sahu and is supported by a secretary, two additional secretaries and seven joint secretaries.

The Delhi-focused department will oversee the Delhi Development Authority, the Central Public Works Department and the administration of government estates, including hostels, and will handle allocation of accommodation in Vigyan Bhawan. It will take charge of the Central Vista redevelopment, the Master Plan of Delhi and related coordination, slum clearance, erection of memorials and development of government colonies, as well as the Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The remit will extend to planning and development of the National Capital Region and administration of the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985. The new department will oversee the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation that runs the Regional Rapid Transit System and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and will administer laws including the Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Act, 1949, the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 and the Delhi Urban Art Commission Act, 1973.

The Department of Urban Development will handle planning and coordination of urban transport, including buses, roads, tramways and fares for rail based urban systems, and will oversee town and country planning and the development of metropolitan areas and municipal corporations outside Delhi. It will formulate housing policy and programmes except rural housing, implement urban employment and poverty alleviation programmes and administer the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The change follows earlier mergers and restructurings since the ministry originated in 1952 and was merged into MoHUA in 2017.