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Land Pooling Technique : A tool for plan implementation - An Indian experience
2.2 At the central level, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and Housing and Urban Development Division, Planning Commission of the Government of India are the main agencies dealing with the subject of urban planning and development. Central Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO), Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Central Public Health Engineering and Environment Organisation (CPHEEO) are the important nodal organisations which provide technical assistance and advice in urban development planning and related issues. The Central Government agencies perform advisory and coordinating role for promoting orderly urbanization through policy planning and allocation of plan funds thereof to the states. These agencies also monitor central sector schemes, provide incentives to achieve national goals and objectives and facilitate inter-state coordination. The central agencies formulate model planning and development legislation, guidelines and develop and disseminate innovative approach and techniques for improving efficacy of urban planning and development systems.
2.3 At state level, urban planning is governed by respective State Town Planning Acts and other development Acts. State Town & Country Planning Departments in one form or the other have been established almost in all the States and Union Territories of the country. Although role and function of Town Planning Departments may vary from state to state and by and large preparation of Master Plans / Development Plans, Regional Plans, Town Planning Schemes, Zonal Plans, Development Scheme, Area Schemes, implementation of central and state sector schemes, development control and planning permissions are their major functions. State level policy and strategy planning are also worked out to prepare and implement development plans and improvement schemes.
2.4 At local level, the planning administration field offices of the State Town Planning Departments have been established either at District or administrative division level. In most of the towns and cities urban local bodies in the form of Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Nagar Panchayat have been constituted. In some of the large and metropolitan areas Planning and Development Authorities have also been constituted to look after the planning and development of the respective towns. These authorities have been created either under State Town Planning Acts or complementary Development Authority Act. In some cases powers have also been delegated to municipalities for preparing plans and for giving development permissions.
2.5 Planning and development activities are taken up in three concentric zones depending upon the extent and spread of the respective town or city. The first zone is comprised of municipal area strictly within municipal limits. The planning and development in this zone comes under the jurisdiction of the respective urban local body. The second concentric zone around the municipal limits is covered by the Urban Development Authority or by the Local Planning Area Authority. The outer zone consisting of outskirt area, urban fringe and rural environs is either part of Urban Development Authority or outside the local planning areas is controlled by city Development Authority or Village Panchayats. In the Zone I and Zone I I development activities and urban growth are generally regulated through the Master Plan / Development Plan of the area. In this area particularly Zone I I scope for town planning scheme is quite encouraging. In Zone I I I either there is no development control or very marginal control and this is the zone where most of the development is taking place. The core is almost developed and there is very little scope for further growth. The efforts in this zone are generally geared up towards strengthening the existing set up. In the fringe areas planning and development mechanism need to be followed in a phased manner through the instrument of Master Plan / Development Plan to tackle the problem of urbanization on a comprehensive basis.
3. Master Planning Approach
3.1 Over the years Master Plan / Development Plan approach has emerged as an important instruments of urban planning systems in the country. Initially, process of Master Plan followed in India desired its base from the erstwhile comprehensive planning system under the 1947 Town and Country Plan Act of United Kingdom. Later on a Model Town and Country Planning Legislation was prepared which formed the basis for State Town and Country Planning Acts. The Master Plan for Delhi (1961 - 81) prepared by TCPO was perhaps the first statutory comprehensive development plan in the country. The concepts, measures, methodology and techniques known as Delhi Imperatives have been widely used while preparing Master Plan for various towns and cities in the country.
3.2 The momentum in Master Plan Approach was, however, generated during the Third Five Year Plan (1961 - 66) when Central Government provided cent percent financial assistance to the State Governments to set up town planning departments for preparation of Comprehensive Master Plans for the fast growing cities and towns under a legislative framework based on the Model law formulated by TCPO. Since then, process of Master Plan picked up and concerted efforts were made for providing appropriate legislative support for preparation, enforcement and implementation of the Master Plans. As per the study conducted by TCPO in 1995, about 879 Master Plans were prepared under the State Town Planning Acts, Town Improvement Trust Acts, City Development Authority Acts and other related Acts / Legislation. Master Plan for 319 towns / cities were in the process of preparation and in the draft stage (Table - I I). Some of the states also have non-statutory plans mainly for guidance and policy purpose as they could not be approved due to lack of appropriate legislative framework.
3.3 Scope of Master Plan has clearly defined in various Town Planning Acts and other relevant legislation. Basically it is a statutory instrument for controlling, directing and promoting the sound and rational development and / or re-development of urban areas with a view to achieving maximum economic, social and aesthetic benefits. Broadly it indicates the proposals for allocating the use of land for various purposes such as residential, industrial, commercial, recreational, public and semi-public, etc. It proposes a network of roads and street pattern and traffic circulation system for present and future requirements. It identifies areas required to be preserved and conserved and provides for all such matters as may be necessary for the development of the respective town / city or as may be prescribed by the State Government and other specialized agencies. It indicates the stages by which the plan is proposed to be implemented. The Master Plan is followed by preparation of Zonal Development Plan, Development Schemes, Town Planning Schemes, etc. which indicates details and specific location of various activities, facilities and services as suggested in the Master Plan. Such detailed plans and Town Planning Schemes are necessary for smooth enforcement and implementation of Master Plan.
3.4 Urban land development is being controlled by following the objectives of access to urban land ensuring optimum social use of land, making available adequate quantity of serviced land at reasonable price to both public authorities and individuals, encouraging cooperative community efforts in the field of land developments, and preventing concentrating of urban land in a few private hands safeguarding the interest of economically weaker section of the society. Master Plan inter-alia contains zoning and sub-division regulation, development control norms and building bye-laws which are the instruments to access, use and control of land. Various models for assemblage of land have been in force as part of urban planning and development. The concept of Accommodation Reservation (AR) and Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) are the new policy instruments for resolving the problems of land acquisition / land assembly to some extent. Large scale acquisition, development and disposal of land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 mechanism, negotiated land purchased under Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 and joint sector approach of Uttar Pradesh Government empowering development authorities to provide land to private developers on license basis for development and construction of dwelling units are some other techniques followed for land assembly and development. In addition, Town Planning Schemes for pooling of land of identified owners for development as a unit by the planning agency is an important and pooling technique in vogue since beginning of the twentieth century. Under this technique land is adjusted by sharing the same in a common pool where landowners become partners in the city planning process, which help in implementation of city Master Plans in various states. A relationship of Town Planning Scheme as a tool for implementation of Master Plan is depicted below.