OVERVIEW OF PLANNING LAWS – ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT

* J.K.Gupta

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1. INTRODUCTION 

1.1 In this era of rapid and massive urbanization, urban land development and urban development process have emerged as the two critical areas of major concerns to all governments. It has been universally acknowledged that planning and management of urban settlements have far reaching implications on the economic development, social change, health, political stability and operational efficiency of any society. At the root of such development and administration is the land, its allocation, planning and management. Thus land-use planning emerges as one of the most powerful element in the process of urban development. Accordingly, it becomes desirable that ways and means must be found to increase the operational efficiency of the process of land-use planning.

1.2 Like all civilized societies have their roots in a well laid down system of rules and regulations, planned growth and development of urban settlements would require a whole regime of planning legislation to support it. It has been observed that planning legislation has profound implications for urban development because it defines the system of urban government, establishes the system of urban planning and regulations of land development. It also defines and delimits the role and power of urban planners and managers. All urban laws provide for certain basic procedures which have to be followed in plan preparation and plan approval before they are made operational. It includes declaration of the intention of the authority to plan a particular areas; prepare and publish a draft plan, a period for the receipt of objections and comments; a consideration of the same; submission of plan to the prescribed authority modified or otherwise; approval of plan with or without amendments by the competent authority; notifications of the approval and coming into operation of the plan.

1.3 Law, contrary to commonly held views is not a neutral instrument. It has vital implications for the society, its functioning and also on city and its development. Behind any urban law lies political and policy issues and not merely technical issues. The reforms of 1968 introduced in the UK planning laws basically related to the introduction of a more flexible policy oriented approach to planning in anticipation of rapid public sector led economic growth, which in turn fed into the system of development controls so that they too became policy oriented and wide ranging in its consideration of individual planning applications. Thus primarily it is the system prevailing in a particular area alongwith political, economic, social and development policy enshrined in the political agenda which in a democratic set up determines the underlying system of urban planning. However, in developing countries like India which have been under colonial rules, planning laws inherited by these countries are primarily based on western model or models evolved to suit the convenience of foreign rulers. Thus in most of the developing countries the system of urban planning and urban development have not been able to cope with the emerging problems of urbanization because of the under-lying inadequacies of planning practices and planning systems enshrined in the colonial laws. Thus it becomes important that all available planning laws are closely looked into and appropriately modified to take care of the prevailing urban problems and ground realities of the urban India. This can help in making the entire process of urban planning, development & management more effective and efficient.

2. PLANNING LAWS IN POST-INDEPENDENCE ERA

2.1 It has been observed that with the pace of urbanization picking up in the post-independence era. India witnessed flurry of planning laws enacted by different states to control, regulate and promote orderly and planned development of urban areas. Urban development being a state subject the states took full advantage of the provision to create their own planning regimes. Absence of uniformity is noticed in most of the laws formulated to regulate the urban growth and use of land. In some cases the state did follow patterns set up by some metropolitan cities in the country. It has been observed that for managing all larger cities, a number of Development Authorities came into existence and as such development authorities became a fashion with the state authorities which were seen as a panaceas for all urban ills.

2.2 The existing planning legislation scenario indicates that there is a preference for enacting laws which are subject specific and as such urban development has witnessed large number of laws made applicable in urban areas. Each law has its own framework, management system and operational mechanism and it has given birth to a number of development agencies operating in the urban area with overlapping areas of operational and functional jurisdiction. It gives rise to not only multiplicity of agencies but also wastage of precious resources. Urban development process has suffered in the process. Most of these laws are borrowed and as already stated, may not fit in the given scenario. Although the green law was highly successful in one set of conditions it became non-functional in other area because of variation in the ground conditions. 

2.3 Most of the developmental laws have followed the pattern laid down in the Maharashtra Town Planning Act. Town and Country Organization did evolve a Model Town Planning Law which also primarily followed the Maharashtra pattern. In the present context the emphasis has been on evolving comprehensive planning legislation in the state which provides for state level apex agencies for guiding, directing and coordinating the development process with number of development agencies created at the regional and local level for the preparation and implementation of Regional Plans, Master Plans and formulating schemes for the development of various parts of the cities and towns. However, the scenario is likely to undergo a total change due to the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 which for the first time gives recognition to the subjects of urban planning, town planning and land use planning and provides for empowerment of the local authorities (who have now been made as Constitutional entities) to take up the onus of planning, development and management of urban areas under their jurisdiction. Political agenda now points towards decentralization of powers from state to the local level authorities so far as the subject matter of urban development is concerned. It also provides for setting up agencies like District Planning Committees for each district of the country and Metropolitan Area Planning Committee for each Metropolitan Areas for preparing District Plans and Metropolitan Area Plans. These bodies having the majority of elected members from the Municipalities and Panchayats would have a greater say in the formulation of these plans and accordingly future plans are supposed to be more popular and not exclusively based on technical considerations.

2.4 In most of the cases, it has been observed that the existing urban development framework is directly in conflict with the framework provided by the new decentralized regime in the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. Accordingly, most of the existing laws would require amendments. Since local bodies are supposed to be the apex planning and development agencies at local level so number of existing state or local level agencies will either be rendered out-dated or will have to be part and parcel of the municipalities. The urban development scenario will thus remain hazy and confused for a considerable time before a clear picture emerges as to what will be the appropriate framework of the city planning, development and management. This will largely depend upon the perception of the political pundits who would rule the state and their willingness to share power, functions, authority and resources with the local level agencies (Municipalities) before they emerge as self-sufficient in the area of city development.

2.5 In this paper one of the major problems that have been mentioned in the urban context is the multiplicity of laws relating to urban development and large number of agencies operating in the urban areas. In this context study has been made of the existing laws in the state of Punjab relating to urban development and it has been found that as many as 25 laws are applicable in its urban areas. These laws relate to land acquisition, land development, managing urban areas, formulating planning schemes, development of residential and industrial estates, setting up of agricultural produce markets, preparation of Master Plans, Regional Plans, controlling and Regulating areas around important roads and cities, providing for regulation and granting ownerships of apartments, licensing of private colonies and registration of property dealers, promoters and colonizers operating in the urban areas besides controlling and regulating the urban land and pollution in urban areas etc. A look at these Acts clearly reveals that there is not only multiplicity of Acts but there is duplication in their functional and operational areas also.

2.6 Similarly, looking at the agencies it has been found that besides Municipal Corporations and Municipalities there are Improvement Trust set up under The Town Improvement Act, Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board under the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board Act, Directorate of Colonization, Directorate of Town Planning, Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Goindwal Industrial and Investment Corporation, Punjab State Small Industries and Export Corporation, Regional and Town Planning Board, Punjab Urban Planning And Development Authority, Special Area Planning and Development Authorities, Pollution control Board, State Urban Development Agency, PEPSU Township Board, State Land Acquisition Board, District Planning Committees, Housing Federation etc. It would be pertinent to note here that Regional and Town Planning Board, PUDA and Special Area Planning Authorities have been created in 1995 after the coming into operation of 74th Constitutional Amendment in 1992. Thus the state urban development scenario indicates high degree of concentration of not only urban laws but also urban development agencies. Despite the fact that there are number of agencies and laws operating in urban areas, it has been observed that there is a concentration of development agencies operating in the large urban areas but these agencies are conspicuous by their absence in the small urban settlements. This dichotomy has made the entire urban development process lopsided.

2.7 To illustrate the point of multiplicity of laws and development agencies, example of the state of Punjab has been quoted. Situation in other states and cities is not different. For example Patrick Mcausian in his article on ‘The Role of Law in Urban Planning’ writes about Madras (now Chennai) in following terms:

‘In Madras there is a plethora of laws dealing with the urban land development process and a multitude of statutory bodies. Apart from a town and country planning law, there is urban land ceiling legislation, slum clearance legislation, housing legislation, special legislation dealing with the housing of Harijans, the siting of nuclear power installation, rent control, land acquisition and several land taxation laws. Apart from Madras Metropolitan Authority, there is slum clearance board, a housing corporation, upward of fifty local authorities within the area of jurisdiction of MMDA, housing finance bodies and officials dealing with special duties under land ceiling and taxation legislation. The laws themselves are long and prolix, they presume an understanding of legal procedures quite beyond most people, both these to whom they are directed and those who have to implement them.’

The above quote ably sums up the existing situation of the Indian urban laws and urban development agencies.

3. IMPACT ON URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

3.1 Law is never neutral. It has profound implications for urban development. In fact the total efficacy and efficiency of urban planning, development and management processes depends upon legal framework of which they are the products. Thus planning laws would require careful framing. A careful survey of the existing urban scenario vis-à-vis urban legal system reveals that Indian legal system has, by and large, emerged as elitist, authoritarian and to a large extent limits the participation of people at large to whom these laws are supposed to serve and cater for. These laws have also failed miserably to provide for the needs of the rapidly urbanizing India. Further, they have impeded the efforts of ordinary people to house themselves, to obtain an income, to get access to potable water, electricity and other urban services and thereby to survive and better themselves in an urban environment. Urban development laws have turned homesteaders to squatters, self-built houses into slums and nuisance which must be demolished, petty traders into criminals and job seekers into vagrants.

3.2 In the Indian context sheer weight of law and bureaucracy has overwhelmed the development process. Excess of law and legal regulations have resulted in less respect for law and has posed numerous problems in orderly growth and development due to rampant illegal and unauthorized development on massive scale in the urban areas. It has also been observed that less the law and lawyers have to do with uncontrolled urban development and informal sector, the more chances persons in these sectors have of survival and development. Too much of law is as bad as too little law. The law has to be adequate, appropriate, capable enough to take care of the needs of the people and state. It must be able to safeguard the interest of the individual and society and should be capable enough to promote the planned growth of human settlements. In number of cases the urban laws have been observed to defeat the very objectives which they are supposed to achieve. Urban Land Ceiling Act was brought in to bring out the excess urban land into the urban market and to use the same for housing the urban poor. Though the objective was laudable but mechanism adopted was such that it resulted in withholding the excess land from coming into the market and accordingly land market became highly distorted, land prices shot up and speculators made hay. Unauthorized construction became order of the day and city development process suffered enormously. Addition to housing stock came to a trickle and urban rents sky rocketed. Precious urban land got locked and development of 73 large urban centres of the country where the Act was applicable since 1976 went lopsided. After prolonged deliberations and repeated public outcry, the Government of India has now decided to drastically amend it, removing all distortions and anomalies existing in the law. Similarly, Land Acquisition Act of 1894 which is supposed to provide enough land for urban development and other public purposes has really impeded the supply of land. Under the law land acquisition has become highly cumbersome. Repeated and prolonged litigations in the successive courts have made most of the state development agencies bankrupt. The entire process of urban development has been slowed down by this law due to non-availability of enough land for urban development purposes. The law needs drastic amendments and introduction of innovative ideas so as to ensure availability of land at appropriate price, in appropriate quantity and at appropriate place.

3.3 Laws relating to preparation of Master Plans and Regional Plans also need a closer look. Master Plans which are supposed to be torch bearers and to provide a framework for the future growth of urban settlements have emerged as documents requiring enormous time and resources for their preparation with the result these documents are available long after they are required. In fact most of the master plans are approved when they have outlived their life. During the preparation of master plan the development activities are made to stop and as such city grows illegally and without a planned framework. Thus master plans which are supposed to lead the city growth in an orderly manner have emerged in itself as promoters of unauthorized and haphazard development. Majority of growth of Indian cities in the present context is illegal. Even where master plans are available they are too rigid to take care of the fast changing ground conditions of urban dynamism and as such these plans become highly unrealistic and are flouted with impunity. Amendments of master plans are both cumbersome and time consuming, therefore lot of effort and time is wasted in bringing about the required changes and as such master plan emerges as the greatest hindrance in the planned growth of the city. In case of the state of Punjab where recently comprehensive planning legislation has been brought into force, preparation of master plan requires a long procedural follow up and number of approvals from various agencies before it is considered as final. To illustrate the point, for preparing master plan of any area, the area is to be declared as a planning area for which objections are invited from public and then they are considered before the area is finalized. Once the planning area is delineated, a planning agency is appointed which is entrusted with the job of preparing a land use register for each parcel of land/ building which falls within the planning area. This is a highly cumbersome and time consuming process. Once land use register is ready it is notified and objections are invited, which are considered before the register is made final. Based on the land use register and land use plans the master plan is made to pass through the three stages of preparation i.e. Outline master plan, draft comprehensive master and comprehensive master plan. Master plans before finalization would require the approval of the concerned municipality to the proposals of the plans. Calling public objections and comments as well as approvals from the Regional Planning Board and the State Government are mandatory. At each stage objections are called, which are considered, plans modified and submitted for approval. Considering the long chain of preparation, submissions and approvals besides conducting necessary studies and surveys, master plan of a medium size town would require a minimum of 5-6 years period before it is finalized. Despite the fact that the law was enacted in 1995, the stage of preparation of master plans has not gone beyond notifying the planning areas for 11 out of the 120 towns which are yet to be finalized. Thus the law itself makes the preparation of master plan highly cumbersome and time consuming and as a result the urban areas in the state are growing without a proper framework of development in a haphazard and illegal manner.

3.4 In number of cases it has been observed that provisions made in the law are mostly unrealistic and negative in nature which retard the process of planned growth of urban areas. In the case of Scheduled Roads Act which governs the development along the major roads, large chunks of land on both the sides of these roads are to be left as No-Building Zones in which no building can come up. For bye-passes the area restriction extends upto a depth of 328 feet on either side of the road reservation and in the case of important roads it is 100 feet. Leaving such large open spaces within the urban areas in general and Metropolitan Area in particular is totally unrealistic and unachievable and as such the law is treated with impunity and is violated at will. Despite the law being unrealistic it has not been modified and as such safe traffic movement on these important arteries suffers. Since most of the planning laws are negative in nature and as such they impede the development in urban areas. Planning laws have, by and large, emerged as negative force in the process of urban development and have led to unplanned, haphazard uncontrolled and unregulated growth and development of urban areas. Urban laws need to be modified so as to make them emerge as positive tools and promoters of development of the urban areas. All these examples amply demonstrate the need for careful framing of planning laws, if the objective of planned growth and development of urban areas is to be achieved and ensured.

4. CONCLUSION

4.1 In the foregoing paras effort has been made to have an overview of the prevailing planning laws in the country, their nature, contents and impact on the planning systems and approach to the development of the urban areas. Planning laws have far reaching implications on the planned growth of urban areas and accordingly they are vital for urban growth. However, it has been emphasized that too many laws are also bad as too little laws for the urban health. Accordingly, multiplicity of laws have to be avoided. Similarly laws which are borrowed and are not based on local conditions are of little relevance and least effective to achieve the planned growth. Rigidity in law have been found to lead to stagnation.

4.2 Laws which do not allow participative approach in the planning process invariably lead to the rejection of planning proposals evolved under them. Equity has to be the guiding philosophy behind any law for it to be effective. Planning laws should be simple to understand and not very lengthy which would help in reaching the targeted group. More complex is law, more are the chances of its failure. Any ambiguity and complexity in planning legislation would herald an era of unplanned growth and development. Laws which are negative in approach are not generally obeyed by the people. It should be framed as a positive tool to achieve the planned development. It should be equitable, flexible, simple, participative and easily manageable. It should lay emphasize on environmental issues and should be operationally efficient and administratively fair. Laws should be easy to administer.

4.3 Planning Laws must take due cognizance of the prevailing ground realities and should be able to cope with the dynamism of urban growth. Planning law must focus on the people living in the urban areas and accordingly it must be able to cater to the basic needs of the majority of urbanites who unfortunately are migrants in the urban environment and are too poor to afford a decent living. Their needs must be duly addressed to and provided for in the planning process. Existing system do not recognize majority of urban poor who are considered out of the purview of the planning process and as such existing system has failed to achieve the objective of planned growth of urban areas.

4.4 Many existing distortions and contradictions in the planning system are the outcome of planning laws. Planning laws would require modifications to remove these distortions. Rigidity of master plans and regional plans is the outcome of planning laws of which these plans are the products. These laws would require appropriate provisions to make these plans more flexible and more fair. Time frame of the preparation of master plans can be considerably reduced if laws relate to them are modified by providing a time-frame for each agency to decide and by cutting down on procedures and procedural delays. Contentwise also master plans can be improved to make the existing plans better plans to take care of the needs of the individuals and society in a better way.

4.5 Existing approach to create a number of laws which are subject specific and which leads to the creation of a number of agencies needs to be replaced by general laws manned by city level agencies so that these laws are effectively implemented. The entire regime of planning laws needs to be reviewed in the light of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 which lays down a precise system of planning both at regional level i.e. district and metropolitan level and at the local level. All existing planning laws need to be modified. All powers, authority, function and resources must be vested with the Municipalities to take care of the planned growth and management of urban areas because all problems are city specific and local level agencies are best suited to tackle those problems provided they are properly equipped managerially, financially and technically. However, all reforms must be carefully brought in and new framework must be built on the existing system. Approach should be to make optimum use of the available infrastructures.

4.6 To conclude it can be safely said that in the Indian context much of the harm to the urban planning and development process has been caused by the urban laws, accordingly it would be desirable to closely look into and survey the existing laws and to remove all dualities, contradictions and distortions inherent in them so as to make the entire process of city planning, development and management more effective and efficient which would be critical for launching urban India into the 21st Century to meet the grave challenges posed by massive urbanization.

Urban Development Laws of Punjab 

i) Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

ii) The Punjab Municipal Act, 1911.

iii) The Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922.

iv) The Punjab Damaged Areas Act, 1951.

v) The Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952.

vi) The Punjab New Capital (Periphery Control) Act, 1952.

vii) The Punjab New Mandi Township Act, 1961.

viii) The Punjab State Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961.

ix) The Punjab State Cooperative Societies Act, 1961.

x) Indian Companies Act, 1961.

xi) The Punjab Slum Areas (Improvement) Act, 1961.

xii) * The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas (Restrictions of Unregulated Development) Act, 1963.

xiii) *   The Punjab Urban Estate Act, 1963.

xiv) The Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964.

xv) * The Punjab Housing Development Board Act, 1972.

xvi) ** The Punjab Regulation of Colonies Act, 1975.

xvii) *** The Punjab Regional and Town Planning Ordinance, 1976.

xviii) The Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.

xix)    Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.

xx)    The Punjab (Air) Pollution and Control Act.

xxi)    The Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board Act.

xxii)    The Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995.

xxiii)    The Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995.

xxiv)    The Punjab Apartment Ownership Act, 1995.

xxv)    Tree Preservation Order.

xxvi)    Advertisement control Order.

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* Laws at serial no. xii, xiii, xv have been repealed by the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995.

** Law at serial no. xvi has been repealed by the Punjab Apartment And Property Regulation Act, 1995.

*** Ordinance at serial no. xvii lapsed after six months as bill was not brought before the Assembly to make it a law.

Development Agencies Operating in State of Punjab at State and Local Level

? The Regional and Town Planning Board.

? The Punjab Urban Planning And Development Authority. 

? Punjab State Industries and Export Corporation.

? Punjab State Mandi Board.

? Market Committees.

? Goindwal Industrial Investment Corporation

? State Public Works Depart (Building and Road).

? Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

? Municipal Corporation.

? Directorate of Colonisation.

? Anand Pur Sahib Planning and Development Authority.

? Pepsu Development Board.

? Improvement Trusts.

? The Co-operative Housing Federation.

? Competent Authority under Apartment and Property Regulation Act.

? Air Pollution Control Board.

? Development Board for Important/ Historic Towns.

? Tourism Development Corporation.

? Police Housing Corporation

? Irrigation Department.

? State Health Corporation.

? District Planning Board.

? Military Engineering Services.

? Post and Telegraph Deptt.

? Nahar Industrial and Investment Corporation.

? Sriram Industrial Enterprises.

? Promoters and Developers registered with PUDA.

? Department of Civil Aviation.

? Punjab State Electricity Board.

? Technical Education Department.

? Transport Department.

? Bhakra Beas Management Board.

? Department of Industries.

? Food Corporation of India.

? State Warehousing Corporation.

? Archaeology Department.