<p>This paper examines the evolution of affordable housing interventions for the urban poor in Delhi, India, through an analysis of the changing role of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the state authority in charge of urban planning and housing, from 1962 to 2025. It explores how shifts in housing policy and planning practice reflect broader neoliberal transformations in urban governance, with the reconfiguration of the state agency’s role from direct provider to facilitator of market-led development. The study traces changes in institutional responsibilities, land assembly mechanisms, and housing delivery models through a longitudinal review of master plans, housing policies, and programme documents. The analysis demonstrates that earlier planning regimes emphasised state-led land acquisition and direct public housing provision, resulting in a substantial stock of formal low-income housing, despite significant limitations. Over time, however, housing policy has increasingly prioritised private-sector participation, inclusionary zoning, and market-based financing mechanisms, thus reducing the state’s direct role in housing provision and transferring greater financial and implementation risks to households and private actors. Recent reforms in pricing structures, eligibility criteria, and allocation mechanisms have further weakened the redistributive function of public housing. The findings suggest that neoliberal restructuring has constrained the capacity of affordable housing policy in Delhi to address persistent housing shortages. While policy frameworks continue to invoke pro-poor objectives, their operationalisation increasingly privileges market viability over social need. The paper contributes to broader debates on neoliberal urban governance in the Global South by illustrating how market-based reforms reshape housing provision in a context marked by structural inequality and enduring housing deficits.</p>