DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAND

Development is defined as “the carrying out building, engineering, mining or other operations in, or over or under land or the making of any material change, in any building or land the use of any building or land and includes demolition of any existing building, structure or erection or part of such building, structure or erection, reclamation, redevelopment and layout and subdivision of any land”.

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1" engineering operations " includes the formation or laying out of a street or means of access to a road or laying out of means of water-supply, drainage, electricity, gas or other public service;

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Basic requirement to carry out any development over the land is that the land is require to convert for the purpose for which land is intend to develop. Basically all lands are agricultural land. Collector of the district is empowered to covert the land from agricultural to non agricultural purpose and from one non-agricultural purpose to another non-agricultural purpose. More details are given in the chapter “Non- Agricultural Land”.

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Control on development:

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Control on development is essential for the achieving the below mention purposes;

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(i)???????????land be used for the best purposes for which it is most suitable e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, etc. having regard to both public and private interests;

(ii)?????????adequate means of communications be provided for traffic throughout the region;

(iii)???????building development be concentrated in areas where adequate public and utility services can be supplied economically;

(iv)????????ample area be reserved as open spaces;

(v)??????????amenities of the country side be protected including preservation of landscapes; and

(vi)???????Preservation of historical monuments, etc.

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Regulating the development is State Government subject. The State Government is empowered to enforce and enact necessary laws and frame policies for the subject. In the Maharashtra, there are number of laws, rules, regulations and policies in force for regulating development. In this chapter we are considering provisions made under Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966

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MAHARASHTRAREGIONALTOWN PLANNING ACT, 1966

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Regional Planning: The statutory powers regarding planning were embodied under the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915, which was in force till its replacement by the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954. The Act of 1954 generally incorporated the provisions of Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915, and in addition made it obligatory on every local authority (barring village panchayats) to prepare a development plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction.

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The Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954, applied to lands included within the municipal limits only and therefore, there was no provision for exercising proper and effective control over the planning and development of land in peripheral areas outside the municipal areas which were growing in an irregular and haphazard manner. The evil results of such uncontrolled growth and development have already become apparent in the vast areas outside Greater Bombay and PoonaBombayPoonaNagpur and by developing counter magnates for the dispersal and reallocation of both industries and population within the region. and ,and other important urban centres. It was considered that the only way to tackle adequately these evil effects arising out of rapid industrialization and urbanization would be by resorting to regional planning for areas around the metropolitan centres like

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There was no statutory power under the Act of 1954 for the preparation of regional plans which has therefore, been repealed and replaced by the Maharashtra11th January, 1967BombayPoonaNagpur and constituted Regional Planning Boards for these three regions. and , . This Act provides for establishment of regions and constitution of Regional Planning Boards for the preparation of regional plans, designation of sites for new towns, establishment of development authorities to create new towns, preparation of development plans for the municipal areas and town planning schemes for execution of the sanctioned development plans. Government has established Metropolitan Regions at Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. This Act came into force in the State from

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Development Plan:

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Development plan" means a plan for the development or redevelopment of the area within the jurisdiction of the local authority.?

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Act made it obligatory on every Municipal Corporations, Councils and other local authorities (barring village panchayats) to prepare a Development Plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction. Object of preparing Development Plan is to use the land for the best purposes for which it is most suitable for e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, etc.

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A Development plan generally indicates the manner in which the use land of in the area of a Planning Authority shall be regulated, and also indicate the manner in which the development of land therein is to be carried out. It provides all or any of the following matters;

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(i)???????????allocation of the of land for purposes; such as residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, recreational;

(ii)?????????designation of lands for public purpose, such as schools, colleges and other educational institutions, medical and public health institutions, markets, social welfare and cultural institutions, theatres and places for public entertainment, or public assembly, museums, art galleries, religious building and government and other public buildings as may from time to time be approved by the State Government,

(iii)???????designation of areas for open spaces, playgrounds, stadium, zoological gardens, green belts, nature reserves, sanctuaries and dairies,

(iv)???????existing plans and future plans for transport and communications, such as roads, high-ways, park-ways, rail-ways, water-ways, canals and air ports, including their extension and development,

(v)?????????existing and future provisions of Water supply, drainage, sewerage, sewage disposal, other public utilities, amenities and services including electricity and gas,

(vi)???????reservation of the lands made for community facilities and services,

(vii)?????designation of sites for service industries, industrial estates and any other development on an extensive scale,

(viii)???preservation, conservation and development of areas of natural scenery and landscape,

(ix)????????preservation of features, structures or places of historical, natural, architectural and scientific interest and educational value of heritage buildings and heritage precincts,

(x)??????????the filling up or reclamation of low lying, swampy or unhealthy areas or leveling up of land,

(xi)????????the laying out or re-laying out of land either vacant or already built upon including areas of comprehensive development,

(xii)??????provisions for permission to be granted for controlling and regulating the use and development of land within the jurisdiction of a local authority including imposition of conditions and restrictions in regard to the open space to be maintained about buildings, the percentage of building area for a plot, the location, number, size, height, number of storeys and character of buildings and density of population allowed in a specified area, the use and purposes to which buildings or specified areas of land may or may not be appropriated, the sub-division of plots the discontinuance of objectionable users of land in any area in reasonable periods, parking space and loading and unloading space for any building and the sizes of [projections and advertisement signs and hoardings and other matters as may be considered necessary for carrying out the objects of this Act.

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Local Authority has to carry out a survey, prepare an existing land-use map and prepare a Development Plan for the area. Local authority may for the purpose of implementing the proposals in the final Development Plan, prepare one or more Town Planning Schemes for the area within its jurisdiction.

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Under section 3 of above act,

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1.????????State government may establish any area in the State, by defining its limits, to be a “Region” for the purpose of this act and may give name to it. (For example, Mumbai Metropolitan Region is a region established by the government under this act.)

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2.????????Constitutes a Regional Planning Board for the Region for the purpose of planning the development and use of land.

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It shall be the duty of a Regional Board

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(i)???????????to carry out a survey of the Region, and prepare reports on the surveys so carried??out;

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(ii)?????????to prepare an existing-land-use map and such other maps as may be necessary, for the purpose of preparing a Regional Plan.

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Regional Plan

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Region may extend over an area of thousands of sq.kms. It comprises Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, non-municipal urban centres, and hundreds of villages. The object of Regional Plan is to regulate future development in the Region so that it shall develop in a proper and orderly manner.

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A Regional Plan may provide for all or any of the following matters;

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1.????????????allocation of land for different uses, general distribution and general location of?land and the extent to which the land may be used as residential, industrial, agricultural or as forest, or for mineral exploitation;

2.????????????reservation of areas for open spaces, gardens, recreation, zoological gardens, nature reserves, animal sanctuaries, dairies and health resorts;

3.????????????transport and communications such as roads, highways, railways, water-ways, channels and airports, including their development;

4.????????????water supply, drainage, sewerage, sewage disposal and other public utilities, amenities and services including electricity and gas;

5.????????????reservation of sites for new towns, industrial estates and any other large scale development or project which is required to be undertaken for the proper development of the region or new towns;?

6.????????????preservation, conservation and development of areas of natural scenery, forest, wild life, natural resources and landscaping;

7.????????????preservation of objects, features, structures or places of historical, natural, architectural or scientific interest and educational value;

8.????????????areas required for military and defense purposes;?

9.????????????prevention or erosion, provision for afforestation, or reforestation,?improvement and redevelopment of water front-areas, rivers and lakes;?

10.????????proposals for irrigation, water supply and hydroelectric works, flood control and prevention of river pollution;?

11.????????providing for the relocation of population or industry from overpopulated and industrially congested areas and indicating the density of population or the concentration of industry to be allowed in the area.

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In the Regional Plan land allocation for different purposes are made by dividing land in the Zones. Broadly lands are divided in the zones as mentioned below:

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(i)???????????Forest Zone

(ii)?????????Green Zone?

(iii)???????Industrial Zone

(iv)???????Recreational Zone

(v)?????????Urbanisable Zone

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Development Control in the “Region”

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If the land situates within the limits of any planning authority, the land may be developed for residential, commercial, industrial, warehousing or other urban uses. Such development shall be in conformity with the detailed land use provisions of the Development Plan, Planning Proposals, Town Planning Schemes, and the related Development Control Regulations as may be enforced by the concerned planning authorities for their respective areas.

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If the land situates outside the limits of any planning authority, the development shall be in conformity with the detailed land use provisions of the Land use plan and the related Development Control Regulations as may be enforced by the concerned *Special Planning Authority appointed for the Region. Where Development Control Regulations are inadequate for control. Some of the *Special Planning Authority:-

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(i)???????????City And Industrial Development Corporation,

(ii)?????????Maharashtra housing and Area Development Authority,

(iii)???????Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and

(iv)???????Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority etc

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Development Control out side the “Region” and Planning Authority

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Where there is no Regional Plan, Development Plan or Town Planning Scheme, for development control standardized building bye laws and DC Rules for B. & C. Class municipal councils are used by Town Planning Department while scrutinizing miscellaneous building permission cases and layouts received from the Collectors.

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District Collector is empowered to grant or refuse development permission.