Report Summary - Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India | Economic Survey & Government Reports - UPSC PDF Download

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Rajat Asthana 
rajat@prsindia.org 
October 1, 2021 
PRS Legislative Research ? Institute for Policy Research Studies  
3
rd
 Floor, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya ? 212, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg ? New Delhi – 110002 
Tel: (011) 43434035, 23234801 ? www.prsindia.org 
Report Summary 
Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India
? NITI Aayog released a report on ‘Reforms in 
Urban Planning Capacity in India’ in September 
2021.  The report mentions that during 2011–36, 
urban growth will be responsible for 73% of the 
rise in total population.  This brings opportunities 
to leverage urbanisation, while posing challenges to 
sustainable growth.  Key observations and 
recommendations include: 
? Institutional structure:  The Committee noted that 
most states have not devolved the funds, functions, 
and functionaries for undertaking urban planning to 
the urban local government, as envisaged by the 
Constitution (74
th
 Amendment) Act, 1992.  
Consequently, several agencies are involved in 
planning and infrastructure development, at both 
city and state levels, with overlapping functions.  
This leads to a lack of accountability, causing 
delays and resource wastage.  The Committee 
recommended: (i) empowering mayors and 
standing committees to make them more effective 
in urban planning and management, (ii) recruiting 
urban planners as advisors/fellows in the offices of 
the mayors by the states/UTs, and (iii) 
commissioning a High-Powered Committee for 
reviewing the urban governance structure in India.   
? Master Plans: The Committee noted that even 
though most states have legal powers to prepare 
and notify master plans, 65% of the 7,933 urban 
settlements in India do not have any master plan.  
Master plans regulate land utilisation, expansion, 
and zoning of cities for 20-25 years.  Not 
implementing master plans leads to haphazard 
constructions, aggravating problems like traffic 
congestion, pollution, and flooding.  To resolve 
these challenges, the Committee recommended 
implementing a five-year central sector scheme 
named ‘500 Healthy Cities Programme’.  The 
scheme would aim to achieve health-centric 
planning through convergence in spatial planning, 
public health, and socio-economic development.  
To ensure maximum impact of the scheme, the 
Committee recommended: (i) providing incentives 
to states for preparing sectoral visions based on 
budgetary allocations and citizen aspirations, (ii) 
constituting metropolitan planning committees and 
district planning committees, and (iii) enhancing 
the scope of the Ease of Living Index for 500 cities 
to ensure healthy competition. 
? Development control regulations:  The 
Committee notes that planning regulations and 
building byelaws often increase the cost of 
construction, leading to underutilisation of urban 
land and market distortions.  Further, many of these 
regulations were amended without sufficient 
empirical evidence on their impacts.  To address 
these issues, the Committee recommended a sub-
scheme named ‘Preparation/ Revision of 
Development Control Regulations’ for all the 
cities/towns covered under the recommended 
‘Healthy Cities Programme’.  The scheme aims to: 
(i) assess the impact of existing regulations and 
bye-laws on health and safety of citizens, (ii) 
develop virtual three-dimensional models to depict 
various scenarios of skylines, densities, and 
streetscapes, and (iii) handhold state/city 
government in selecting appropriate scenarios. 
? Augmenting human resources in the public 
sector:  The Committee noted that town and 
country planning departments across states have 
vacancies as high as 42% (of 3,945 sanctioned 
posts).  It recommended: (i) sanctioning an 
additional 8,268 lateral entry posts of town 
planners’ cumulatively, for a period of three years 
(minimum) to five years (maximum), and (ii) 
reviewing the human resource requirements after 
the results of the latest Census are available.  
? Professional education and standard setting:  To 
improve skill mapping and data capture of planning 
professionals,  the Committee recommended: (i) 
constituting a statutory body named ‘National 
Council of Town and Country Planners’ to set 
standards in planning and make suggestions for 
updating curricula, (ii) establishing a National 
Digital Platform of Town and Country Planners to 
function as a marketplace between industry and the 
workforce, (iii) establishing postgraduate courses in 
urban and rural planning and policy (with 
corresponding departments) in all central 
universities and technical institutions, and (iv) 
teaching the history of human settlements in the 
Indian subcontinent to all planners. 
? Capacity building: For capacity building of the 
staff of town planning departments, the Committee 
recommended: (i) utilising the National Urban 
Learning Platform for short online courses, and (ii) 
participation of state government officials in juries, 
exhibitions, and sessions of prominent planning 
education institutions. 
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