Institutional Set‐Up

Planning function is a continuous process and the Planning Department’s work

continues from plan preparation to plan processing, enforcement, implementation,
plan detailing, review and then plan formulation and so on. The plan formulation,
implementation, monitoring and review exercises must be statutorily prescribed in
the State Acts and completed within the specified time‐frame as schedule. In the
context of these requirements institutional set‐up has a vital role.

Town and Country Planning Departments: State Levels

Most of the States in India have Department of Town and Country Planning (T&CP),
under the provisions of State Town and Country Planning Acts. But, not all the
Departments of T&CP are headed by qualified planners. Instead of Chief Town
Planner, the Departments are headed by Chief Engineers or Administrators and in few
cases by Senior Town Planners. Thus, despite of qualified manpower T&CP
departments at many states are headed by non‐planners which lead to problems, like
delayed decision making, lack of appropriate visions and policy in planning, delay in
master plan preparation.
Required manpower of State Town Planning Department

District Planning Committee

State Governments have been empowered by 74th Constitutional Amendment Act to
constitute District Planning Committee. These committees are to be responsible for
the preparation of District Development Plan. However, even after 2 decades of
amendment, most of the states have not constituted these committees.
In a study done by TCPO in consultation with State Town & Country Planning
Departments and academic institutions, tentative strength of planners required at
different planning levels was deliberated. It was agreed that proportion of town
planners would vary according to the population and size of the administrative units.
The manpower requirement of DPCs, as assessed, is presented below.
Number of Town Planners required at District Level

Urban Local Bodies (Municipality, Development Authority,

MPC)
In view of growing number of cities and towns the number of town planners at
Metropolitan Planning Committees was assessed to be around 1,200. It was
established that number of town planners may vary city to city depending upon
number of zones/wards in the city. It was normated that for every 5 lakh population,
1 town planner is required at metropolitan planning area.
Number of Town Planners in Metropolitan Planning Area

The Census of India, 2011 has for the first time classified a large number of towns as
census towns (3,894). These rural settlements have attained urban characteristics
and need support of town planners. It was assessed that about 79,000 planners will
be required in small and medium cities alone.

Number of Town Planners required for non‐million plus cities (small & medium cities)

Thus, the analysis done by TCPO indicates that 85,000 to 90,000 planners would be
required in the country at various levels of planning framework, which roughly works
out to 1 planner per 14,000 population.

Team Requirement for Plan Formulation

Team Requirement
Core Planners’ team for holistic planning of cities and regions should necessarily
consist of:
􀂃 Urban planner and/or regional planner,
􀂃 Environmental planner,
􀂃 Transport planners and
􀂃 Infrastructure planner.
Apart from team of planners certain experts’ are also required (as per requirement of
the study) such as,–
􀂃 Urban designer,
􀂃 Legal expert,
􀂃 Economist,
􀂃 Geographers & Demographer,
􀂃 Sociologist/Anthropologist,
􀂃 Expert in housing and good governance,
􀂃 Heritage conversation expert,
􀂃 Tourism expert,
􀂃 Urban policy expert,
􀂃 Development planner,
􀂃 Water & Sanitation expert and others,
􀂃 Architectural draftsman / GIS expert or associate.

Institutional Reforms
Regulatory Body at State Level
A Regulatory body ‘Urban‐ Regional Planning and Development Regulatory Authority’
at State level should be established through statutory support. The role of this body
should be to regulate and monitor the functioning of development bodies and also to
regulate Urban and Regional Development Authorities/ Bodies / Agencies.This
regulatory body should have following objectives to fulfil its role and functions in an
envisioned manner:
􀂃 Assess and Monitor the overall Urban / Regional Planning in the State.
􀂃 Observer and Evaluate impacts of planning on other elements of development system, especially
Environment and Social & Balanced Regional Development.
􀂃 Quicken the process of approval of Plans coupled with transparency.
􀂃 Promote and direct FDI in Real Estate Sector.
􀂃 Prepare Standard monitoring plan and evaluation parameters
􀂃 To serve as a Centralised Single Window for clearance and
􀂃 Authority to exam the plan modification request and permit (mid‐term) landuse changes in the
plan which may be guided by large developments, social interest and need for all.
Aspects of Regional Planning
The preliminary aspects of regional planning may constitute the following, which
highlight the advantages of the approach:
1. Sustainability Sustainability leads to balance in Regional Development which implies efficient
use of available resources and opportunities for development in all parts of the region.
Sustainability of regional planning depends upon:
i. Management of major environmental inputs namely water (both surface and ground),
minerals, maintenance of green cover, protection of sensitive environmental areas and
linking areas with special opportunities for development like religious, archaeological etc.
ii. Balanced and equitable spatial and economic development of the region
iii. Effective Use of local resources including cultural resources such as art &crafts.
iv. Optimisation of regional multimodal mobility and TOD.

Sustainability based regional development can provide solutions for elevation of urban poverty,
minimisation of urban sprawl and managing migration, which are majorly outcomes of lack of
regional planning.

2. Environment – Some of the major environmental concerns that can be addressed by regional
planning approach are the following:
i. Control of pollution specially water pollution, use and maintenance of the water courses.
ii. Maintenance of green cover, forests and eco fragile areas.
iii. Control and regulation of activities which have impact on environment.
While planning, the environmentally sensitive areas should be identified which are non‐conducive
for development. Such areas should be either protected or developed while following relevant
standards.

3. Disaster Management – The impact of natural disasters is exaggerated by unscientific plus

unplanned development. Regional development should promote efficient response and
preparedness to disasters such as floods, landslides, land subsistence, fire and earthquake. The
Disaster Management Act, 2005 makes it mandatory to prepare Disaster Management Plan at
State and District level. Integration of hazard (micro) zoning in planning activities is more
facilitative and responding at regional level which can be integrated with the provisions of
NDMA. Zoning hazards and its holistic approach can be achieved largely at the regional level
scale or better at city level. Thus, regional planning is the solution to integrated response.

4. Promoting Balanced Development – Imbalanced development of the country due to missing

regional planning approach to bring development in urban‐rural settlements simultaneously
has led to lopsided development in favour of urban settlements. As a result centripetal and
centrifugal forces of human movement have come to work with intensity in the urban parts of
the country. Lack of integrated spatial planning specially in the influence area of metropolitan
cities has led to ‘rural push’. Migration across administrative boundaries to the cities without
adequate functional infrastructure to support the population puts pressure on the
administrative departments. On the other hand the areas from where out‐migration takes place
suffer with imbalance growth. Thus, an integrated planning approach is required to provide
administrative solution for provision of sustainable infrastructure in the region and vision
development of the peri‐urban areas & counter magnets.

5. Inclusivity – Regional planning can bring inclusivity in broader area by preparing plan after
considering issues, strengths and prospects of a large spatial unit. Regional disparities
especially peri‐urban areas surrounding large cities and metropolitans present contrasting
conditions both physically and social‐economically. Regional planning can efficiently tackle the
problem arising out of the transition of rural area into peri‐urban and urban areas. Inclusive
development principles can bridge the gap present in terms of regional disparity in India.
Categorization of regions in Indian context

District as a Planning Region

District as a unit is a holistic concept which administratively provides a strong
foundation for planning. The hierarchy of settlements and natural resources available
in relatively larger region are other additional reasons which make district a unit of
planning more logical premise.

Need for Administrative Structure

Administrative structure to guide planning at district level is important. The 74 th
Constitutional Amendment Act provides that the State Legislature should provide for
the composition of District Planning Committee (DPC) given that there shall be
elected representatives of Panchayats and municipalities in committee in
proportionate ratio. For this, State Governments are required to amend existing or
enact new laws to introduce DPC in planning administration structure.

Process of planning at District level

parameters have been shared below but this is only suggestive list, which must be
made exhaustive while preparing plan at state level:
􀂃 Eco sensitive zones of the state,
􀂃 Boundaries of all the urban and rural settlements of the state,
􀂃 Mapping of transport and communication networks,
􀂃 Mapping of natural features,
􀂃 Industrial, mining and related area,
􀂃 Disaster Zonation
􀂃 All maps/plans must be prepared on GIS platform and geo‐referenced.
The State Perspective plan should be distributed to the Districts as a reference for
preparation of further plans at district level. At the stage of Perspective Plan
preparation, the mapping scale, time lines and roles and responsibilities for the
preparation of district plan preparation should be decided which will bring clarity
and uniformity in mapping and plan preparation process. District administration
should proceed with distributing the plans and maps at taluka level and from taluka
level to village Panchayats. The Draft Development plan should then be prepared at
each village Panchayat level with public participation. Here, capacity building and
technical knowhow would need to be percolated from the top administrative set‐ups
and supporting institutional arrangements. The training to the selected people or
people’s representatives must be provided along with trained officials through the
plan preparation process. Similar process must be followed in settlements of urban
hierarchy. Once the plan process at grass root level is over, these plans should be
compiled first at taluka level or at its urban counter parts by Development Authority/
Municipal Corporation to formulate the draft District Regional Plan.
The Draft District Regional Plan then must be put on public forum for objections and
suggestions to impart transparency in the plan process. To meet the purpose of the
district plan, interchangeable options and conflict of interest would need to be
answered in the regional plan. Once the process of public participation is over and
with the approval of State legislature, the final Regional Plan should be uploaded on
relevant websites for future reference and use.
Institutional responsibilities
Proposed District Planning process

Metropolitan Planning Region

Metropolitan area is a large urban settlement, which has population from 10 lakh and
above. The aerial extent of such settlements is huge and often spread across multiple
districts. India has 53 metropolitan cities per Census, 2011. Many of these cities have
already been covered by metropolitan planning or development authorities, such as
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Guwahati.
Formulation of Metropolitans Authorities was conceived with the idea of initiating the
integrated planning and development of the major cities and their surrounding areas.
Constitution requires the States to constitute Metropolitan Planning Committees
through State legislature. Various States‐ West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh
have issued procedures for formulation of Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC)
and metropolitan areas like Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune have MPCs. However,
only Kolkata MPC has prepared a Metropolitan Development Plan (MDP).
Coastal Regulation Zone, 2011
Central Government declared the following areas as CRZ and imposed restrictions on
the setting up and expansion of industries, operations or processes and the like in the
CRZ through the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011:
􀂃 The land area from High Tide Line (HTL means the line on the land up to which the
highest water line reaches during the spring tide) to 500 meters on the landward
side along the sea front.
􀂃 CRZ shall apply to the land area between HTL to 100 meters or width of the creek
whichever is less on the landward side along the tidal influenced water bodies that
are connected to the sea and the distance upto which development along such
tidal influenced water bodies is to be regulated shall be governed by the distance
up to which the tidal effects are experienced which shall be determined based on
salinity concentration of 5 Parts Per Thousand (ppt) measured during the driest
period of the year and distance upto which tidal effects are experienced shall be
clearly identified and demarcated accordingly in the Coastal Zone Management
Plans (CZMPs).
􀂃 The land area falling between the hazard line and 500 meters from HTL on the
landward side, in case of seafront and between the hazard line and 100 meters line
in case of tidal influenced water body the word ‘hazard line’ denotes the line
demarcated by Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) through the Survey of
India (SoI) taking into account tides, waves, sea level rise and shoreline changes.
􀂃 Land area between HTL and Low Tide Line (LTL) is termed as the intertidal zone.
􀂃 The water and the bed area between the LTL to the territorial water limit (12 Nm)
in case of sea. The water and the bed area between LTL at the bank to the LTL on
the opposite side of the bank, of tidal influenced water bodies.
The following activities have been declared prohibited under the CRZ notifications:
i. Setting up of new industries and expansion of existing industries with some
exception,
ii. Manufacture or handling oil storage or disposal of hazardous substance, with
some exception,
iii. Setting up and expansion of fish processing units including warehousing except
hatchery and natural fish drying in permitted areas
iv. Land reclamation, bunding or disturbing the natural course of seawater with
some exception,
v. Setting up and expansion of units or mechanism for disposal of wastes and
effluents with some exception,
vi. Discharge of untreated waste and effluents from industries, cities or towns and
other human settlements. The concerned authorities shall implement schemes
for phasing out existing discharge of this nature, if any, within a time period not
exceeding two years from the date of issue of this notification.
vii. Dumping of city or town wastes including construction debris, industrial solid
waste, fly schemes for phasing out any existing practice, if any, shall be phased
out within a period of one year from date of commencement of this notification.
viii. Port and harbour projects in high eroding stretches of the coast, except those
projects classified as strategic and defence related in terms of EIA notification,
2006 identified by MoEF based on scientific studies and in consultation with the
State Government or the Union territory Administration.
ix. Reclamation for commercial purposes such as shopping and housing complexes,
hotels and entertainment activities.
x. Mining of sand, rocks and other sub‐strata materials.
xi. Drawl of groundwater and construction related thereto, within 200mts of HTL;
with some exception.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act, 2005

The SEZ Act, 2005 provides for the establishment, development and management of
the Special Economic Zones for the promotion of exports. The Act gives tax benefits
which shall boost international trade.
The key features of the Act are:
1. Chapter III of the Act provides for Constitution of the Board of approval for
granting approval for setting up the SEZ. The Central Government shall upon
satisfaction of the requirements notify the specifically identified area in the State
as a Special Economic Zone.
2. According to section 5 of the Act, the notification of the SEZ may be guided by the
following:
a. generation of additional economic activity
b. promotion of exports of goods and services;
c. promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources;
d. creation of employment opportunities;
e. development of infrastructure facilities; and
f. maintenance of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State
and friendly relations with foreign States.
3. Section 6 of SEZ Act states that areas falling within the SEZ may be demarcated as:
a. the processing area for setting up Units for activities such as manufacture of
goods, or rendering services;
b. the area exclusively for trading or warehousing purposes; or
c. the non‐processing areas for activities other than those specified under
clause (a) and (b)
4. Any goods or services exported, imported or procured from the domestic tariff
area by a unit in the SEZ or the developer is exempted from the payment of taxes,
duties or cess.
5. According to section 17 (page 20) of the Act, the application for setting up and
operation of an Offshore banking unit in a SEZ may be made to the Reserve Bank.
6. The SEZ can be deemed to be a port, inland container depot, land station and land
customs station as per notification of Central Government under section 7 of the
Customs Act, 1962.
7. The Modifications to the Income Tax Act, 1961; Insurance Act, 1938; banking
Regulation Act, 1949; the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 applicable to the SEZ are given in
the Act.
8. For computation of total income of an accesses, a deduction of the following is
allowed:
a. Hundred % of profits and gains derived from exports for a period of first five
years
b. Fifty % of profits and gains derived from exports for further five assessment
years and thereafter
c. An amount upto fifty % of the profits shall be credited to a Reserve Account
for the next five consecutive assessment years for the purpose of acquiring
plant and machinery or for creation of any asset.
Minimum land area requirements for setting up of SEZ
􀂃 Area of the SEZ:As per the amendment (12th August, 2013) of SEZ rules (2006),
to address the problem of aggregating large tracts of uncultivable land for setting
up SEZs, while conforming to vacancy and contiguity norms, the minimum land
area requirements for setting up of SEZ in various categories has been reduced by
half. This is also aimed at permitting optimum utilization of land by the existing
SEZs.
􀂃 Multiproduct
SEZ: can be established with minimum land area of 500 hectares
instead of 1,000 hectares. Similarly, a sector specific SEZ can be set‐up with a
minimum land area requirements of 50 hectares instead of 100 hectares.
􀂃 Agro Sector: In order to encourage agro‐based industries in SEZs, a new sector
'agro‐based food processing' sector has been introduced. A sector specific SEZ
would require a minimum land area of 10 hectares.
􀂃 IT /ITES Sector: No minimum land area requirement for IT/ITES SEZs is
prescribed, but these will have to conform to a minimum built up area
requirement.
– The minimum built up area requirement of 1,00,000 square meters will now be
insisted upon for seven major cities viz: Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Chennai,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata,
– For the other set of Category B cities 50,000 square meters norm will be
applicable and
– For the remaining cities / locations 25,000 square meters of minimum built up
area will be insisted upon.