Rationalising and Redefining Master Plans for Making Indian Cities - Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable

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????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????*Jit Kumar Gupta

1. Introduction

Last two centuries have witnessed rapid ?change and transformation of ?communities, cities, states and countries; in terms of way of living, distribution of population, pattern of employment, means of productivity & mobility, pattern of income, distribution and consumption of wealth and resource etc. These patterns are largely showcased by both ?speed, magnitude and concentration of population, activities, resources and infrastructure. All these changes and transformations have their roots in the ongoing process of rapid urbanisation, which has reshaped and redefined the entire fabric of communities and human settlements. Starting with industrial revolution, the process is gaining both speed and acceptability, across the globe, ushering a new era and regime of population growth, industrialisation, commercialisation, prosperity, development and rapid expansion of human settlements besides promoting poverty, pollution and exclusion.

Globally twenty first century has been called century of urbanization, with larger proportion of population, opting for living in the urban centres. Studies made by United Nations about the global trends in urbanization, has concluded that world is urbanizing rapidly, with year 2007, marking a historic milestone in the human history ,when for the first time global urban population exceeded the global rural population. ?Following the global pattern, India is also fast treading on the path of rapid urbanization. Rapid increase in urban population, coupled with in-migration from rural hinterland, is making cities grow both horizontally and vertically.? Accordingly, metropolises., megalopolises and ecu-monopolises are fast emerging on the urban canvas. With recorded urban population standing ?over 377.1 million (31.16 per cent) residing in 3 super- metros, 49 metropolises and? 7935 towns (Census 2011), India has emerged as the second largest urban system in the world after China. Cities like Mumbai (185lacs),? Kolkata (158 lacs) and Delhi (125 lacs) are assuming monstrous proportions. Under this process of rapid population growth, cities are fast melting ?and expanding, to encompass larger and larger rural hinterland within urban fold; increasing distances between basic human activities of living and working; asking for expanded ?transportation network,? to keep the city moving. ?In the process,? levels of energy and resource consumption are rising? in a compounded manner, making cities more polluted, less sustainable and ?resource in-efficient.

Looking holistically, ?cities are known to be propeller and promoters of rapid growth of economy, generators of large-scale employment, providers of basic and essential amenities & services besides offering ?better quality of life, as compared to their rural counterpart. This makes urban centres important and vital, when the issues of employment, income,

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?infrastructures, economic growth and development are considered as priority. Globally, urbanisation and prosperity have been found to have high degree of positive co-relation. However, despite distinct having positivity, cities have been growing in an unplanned and haphazard manner. In the process, urban growth is marked by chaos, disorder, dualities and contradictions. . Cities are facing the greatest challenges of?? meeting the basic needs of shelter, healthcare, education, employment, water and sanitation for its residents. In the process, majority of urban residents are being marginalised and excluded, depriving them of essential services. Quality of life in urban India is fast becoming nightmare for majority of migrants. Population, poverty, pollution and exclusion have emerged as the adverse consequences of Indian urbanisation. With urban population projected to reach 825 million out of 1.6 billion in 2050, greatest challenge before urban planners, architects, professionals, administrators and policy makers would be, how to harmonise the growth and development of urban India and make it smart,? planned, sustainable and rational. This calls for making process of urbanisation, planning, development ?and management of urban settlements, more? transparent, community focussed, resource-efficient, productive and sustainable.

Considering the fact? that productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of urban centres largely hinges on the planned and rational development of ?the urban settlements, and cost of unplanned development has been estimated to be? much higher than cost of planned development, accordingly promoting planned development becomes critical, vital and important for society and nations to rationalise the entire process of economic, physical, social and environmental emancipation of cities. Role , relevance? and importance of promoting ?planned development? of urban settlements, in the context of making planet earth sustainable, has also been stated by the UNDP in SDG11, which calls for making cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Further, studies globally made, have? also revealed that, making cities and communities sustainable , will help in achieving? 9 out of total 17 SDGs. ??

2. ?Defining Master Plan

Master plan , as a planning tool, ?has been extensively and religiously used by planners, locally and globally, to understand and analyse the basic fabric of the city; defining ?genesis of? its origin, growth and development; ?showcasing its culture and heritage; ?documenting its? ever changing? demographic profile; defining status of the city in terms of infrastructure , services and amenities; ?showcasing its existing? land utilization pattern and distribution of housing, work centres, trade and commerce, industry, leisure etc; ?besides identifying developmental and environmental? issues and challenges faced by ?the city ?and evaluating cities in terms of its strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.? Based on the studies made and analysis carried out, Master Plans are known ?to lay down and define agenda for future growth, to launch cities on the path of planned development; to make city more sustainable and to ensure that city overcomes all its existing problems; provides basic amenities of life to all, its existing and future residents including poorest of the poor, to lead a dignified life. Premise and process of Master Plans have also been used extensively, to make cities ?economically vibrant, socially just and environmentally sustainable places, through the mechanism of planned development, using land use as the basic tool and resource. Master Plans have been valued, by planners and administrators, as? long-term documents, which define the city in ?the futuristic context, generally spread over a period of two decades.

Considering its role and importance, Master Plans have been viewed differently and distinctly by Planners in different counties. Master Plan has also been called Comprehensive Plan, considering the comprehensive approach adopted for the urban settlement, in its visioning, formulation and implementation. ?Master Plans have ?been named as Development Plans by developed nations, by redefining its intent, content and scope, to make city growth more flexible and less rigid ?for effectively responding to ?the challenges unleashed by ?urban dynamism and fast changing technologies impacting the ?urban areas, urban living and urban working. Difference in approach has its genesis in the fact that Master Plan has been used both as a policy document to guide the future development of a city and a document detailing precise shape and size of the city in terms of land use by allocation of ?defined uses to different parcels of urban land. Adopting Master Plan, as a policy document, has been used extensively by ?countries of the developed world, to usher an era of ensuring flexibility in future planned development. Whereas majority of developing nations have adopted Master Plans? as an instrument of defining ?use of land, ?for different land parcels,? to control and regulate the planned development of urban centres. Indian planners have adopted the land use planning as the basic approach and option for preparing Master Plans of the cities.

?In order to understand the genesis , contents and scope , it will be relevant to look at how Master Plans have been defined by different experts/ planning agencies involved in preparing these plans.

?Delhi Development Authority defines ?Master Plan as: ‘A long term perspective plan, for guiding the sustainable planned development of the city. It lays down the planning guidelines, policies, development code and space requirements for various socio-economic activities supporting the city population during the plan period. It? also provides ??basis for determining all infrastructure requirements, both locally and regionally’.

Division of Planning, City of Trenton, NJ has defined Master Plan in terms of;

‘A comprehensive plan providing a long-range vision for the built environment of a community. It guides the appropriate use of land within a municipality, in order to protect the public health and safety and to promote general welfare. Among other issues, the Master Plan can identify:

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·?????? Suitable locations for commercial, housing and mixed-use development;

·?????? Locations where the city should increase density, use redevelopment, or intervene in other ways;

·?????? Opportunities to extend and/or improve open space, recreational areas, and civic facilities;

·?????? Strategies for ?increasing economic development;

·?????? Environmental, historic and cultural resources that need conservation; and

·?????? Strategies for solving congestion and improving transit services.

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Master Plan has also been defined as,

?‘A plan that shows an overall development concept that includes urban design, landscaping, infrastructure, service provision, circulation, present and future land use and built form.?It consists of three-dimensional images, texts, diagrams, statistics, reports, maps and aerial photos that describe how a specific location will be developed. It provides a structured approach and creates a clear framework for developing an area.

?Looking at the above definitions, it can be? concluded that Master Plans, are mandated to be definers of physical environment, social environment and economic environment and are supposed to provide all the ingredients which can make a city people centric, more liveable, sustainable, productive and promoter of quality human living besides making city an attractive investment destination. Considering its focus, approach, context and importance, governments and urban development authorities have adopted Master Plan, as the mechanism to promote planned development. Accordingly, state governments have put in place comprehensive legal framework defining objectives, intent, scope and contents? besides detailing methodology for preparing Master Plans, to ensure that these plans are prepared, ??approved? and made operational, for both existing and proposed urban centres, in order to launch them on the fast trajectory of rational ?growth, sustainable and planned development.

3. Issues related to Urban Growth and Preparing Master Plans

·?????? Promoting Dualities and contradictions Despite the fact Master Plan showcases distinct advantages in terms of ?controlling unplanned development, promoting planned development, making? provisions of basic amenities on prescribed norms,? ushering an era of quality development, ensuring quality of life , holding capacity to leverage economic development and making urban development both inclusive and equitable, but the past experience of development of cities in the post- independence era, for whom Master Plans have been prepared and made operational, has been found to be marked with dualities and contradictions. Instead of planned development, majority of the growth in these cities is dotted with ??haphazard and sub-standard development with unplanned development emerging as the order of the day. Despite Master Plans assuring quality of life to all the residents, even to the poorest of the poor to lead a dignified life, majority of urban dwellers have been? facing a life of deprivation, exclusion and poverty, living in slums and shanty towns. As engines of economic growth, Indian cities showcase large scale poverty rubbing shoulders with prosperity and slums existing besides sky-scrappers. Basic amenities of life including, shelter, water supply, sanitation, electricity, road network, healthcare, education etc., are eluding majority of urban residents. Cities are found to be fast emerging as island of prosperity in the sea of poverty. In the process, Master Plans have emerged as ?one of the most potent tools to promote the interest of rich communities ?while marginalising poor besides widening gaps between haves and haven’t. Mumbai, known as the commercial capital, which has the distinction of having one of the first Master Plan ?in the country, offers the ?best example of how? successive Master plans have shaped and impacted ?adversely the city. In the process, Mumbai? now holds the distinction of ?not only having largest number of billionaires(42)in the country but also ?becoming ?home to ?the biggest slum of Asia, Dharvi, housing more than ?one million people in? merely an area of 239 Hectares.

·?????? Controlling? Development; Master Plans, in its present shape and approach, have not been able to promote, achieve and deliver the objectives of ushering an era of equity, ?physical, social? and economic justice for the local communities, for which such plans were put in place. Instead they have created enabling environment of promoting dualities and perpetuating contradictions, making cities less attractive and less preferred destination to live and work. Instead of promoting? rational and planned development, Master Plans have emerged as role model of controllers of development. They have frozen the cities through rigidly defining the land uses, making these plans emerging as major roadblock in the process of ?rational growth and development.

·?????? Marginalising Nature; Nature and human beings are known for their? close relationship, positivities and negativities. Nature is known for its capacity and capability to support, sustain and make human living? more qualitative and productive,? provided human living? remains need based and not greed based. Planet earth? being finite, both in terms of area , scope and resources,? has limitations? to meet? human needs, based on? greed. Limitations of resources coupled? with ever increasing human numbers, has led to? marginalization of nature in planning and development? of urban settlements. In the process? urban settlements are facing large number of developmental, environmental issues and challenges, impacting both nature and humanity . Majority of urban ills, related to climate change , global warming, rising temperature, urban heat island, flooding, disasters, poverty, pollution and mobility, can be attributed to? the manner, urban settlements have?? muted, diluted and marginalized Nature in its planning, development and management processes. This is despite the fact that human living? remains largely dependent/contingent upon and connected with nature and valuable resources provided by the nature. Uncontrolled? and rapid addition of human beings, coupled with rapid industrialization and ever increasing ?unplanned and irrational urabanisation, ?can be largely attributed to and? essentially remain? the? product and outcomes of cities, ?emerging as ?anti-thesis? and marginalising ?the nature and misusing and abusing ?natural resource at the local level.

·?????? Promoting Exclusion and Poverty; Master plans, in majority of cases, have been found to promote and follow policy of exclusion instead of inclusion by focussing more on physical aspects of city planning ignoring the ?environmental, economic and social aspects. This approach has caused enormous damage to urban fabric and its growth and development. By excluding majority of urban population, consisting of poor, informal sector and lower section of societal pyramid from the process of planning, Master Plans have ushered an era of unplanned growth and mushrooming of slums. In this process, these plans have emerged as instruments of serving the interests of elite at the cost of poor and have-nots.

·?????? ?Time-Intensive; With complex? and cumbersome legal framework, large resources and time frame is required for preparing, processing and approval of Master Plans. This invariably delays the preparation of such plans leading to a situation where planning is found to be invariably chasing the development. Mumbai Master Plan once took 17 long years for approval, leading to largest city and economic capital of India, growing without a plan during these 17 long years. With limited commitment of politicians and bureaucrats to promote planned and rational development at local level, master plans are found to be ?chasing the development in majority of cases.

·?????? Resource Intensive; In addition to being time-intensive, preparation of Master Plans also? require large allocation of ?financial resources, for financing the manpower involved in ?mapping? of the planning area,? carrying out various surveys and preparing large number of documents and maps, ordained in the legal framework, under which the master plan is prepared. Accordingly, in majority of cases such Master Plans have not been prepared for large number of Indian cities. In the absence of such plans, cities are growing without the support of any such plans. Niti Ayog in its recent document,’ Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India- Final Report- September, 2021, has also highlighted that 65% of the 7933 urban settlements do not have any master plans, which has led to piecemeal interventions, haphazard constructions, urban sprawl, and environmental pollution and aggravated the issues? related to traffic congestion, flooding, etc. In the process, urbanisation in India remains irrational and uncontrolled. Accordingly, it will be critical that appropriate options must be made operational to make preparation of master plans more cost- effective for ensuring planned development of cities.

·?????? Marginalising Sustainability; Master Plans remain largely land based document, focussing on? physical features of land involving, area, ownership, shape, size, location, accessibility etc;? sub-division of land into parcels of appropriate shape and size for different urban uses; allocating use to sub-divided parcels in terms of residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, roads, open spaces, amenities, facilities etc.? and defining what could be built in these plots, in terms of height, ground coverage, setbacks, floor area ratio etc.. In this process, role and relevance of embedding sustainability remains muted and marginalised in the preparation of master plans. Ignoring? sustainability in the planning process has led to large number of distortions emerging in the city growth and development. In addition, major focus on land and its? sub-division, has also lowered the effectiveness, ?efficacy and efficiency of the Master Plans in rationally addressing the environmental and sustainability challenges faced by the cities. In order to make Master Plans more focussed, relevant, liveable and productive, sustainability has to be built in, as an ?integral part and important element, in ?the planning process?

·?????? Ignoring Villages; ?Planning area for the Master Plans of any city invariably includes and involves large number of villages, in addition to the urban centre for which Master Plan is being prepared. But all planning efforts are directed to promote the planned development of the urban centres. In the process large number of rural settlements, coming within the urban area, urbanisable area and? agricultural area are ignored, muted and marginalised in the planning process. Despite the fact these villages form integral part of the urban eco-system and are closely connected? with the mother city, for providing support in terms of goods, services and manpower for maintaining urban services besides providing? essential food and milk for? daily use , but these villages rarely find any space in the Master Plans, related to its growth and development. In the process, these villages, under the pressure of development led largely by speculation, continue to grow in an unplanned and haphazard manner, absorbing some of the development pressures of the city by offering cost-effective options of living and working in close vicinity to the mother city. However, over a period of time, with the expansion of the urban areas, these villages, get merged into urban limits, invariably pose greatest threat and challenge to rational ?and planned growth of the mother city. Rational growth and development of majority of Indian cities, for which Master Plans have been prepared, is suffering primarily? by ignoring planning of the rural settlements in? the preparation of the Master plans and? divorcing rural planning from urban planning. ???

·?????? Discounting Land Resource; Despite the fact that Master plans, primarily and essentially, deal with land, still in the entire process ?of preparing master plans, optimum utilisation of? urban land is largely discounted and ignored. Land, as a natural ?resource, remains most valuable for the reason that land is the platform on which all ?human activities are performed and land remains the raw materials for the planners, while preparing the Master Plans. Unfortunately, land is treated as a commodity for sale and purchase, making money for all the agencies involved in the urban development process and the individuals owning land in the urban areas. In addition, all planning norms and standards framed for urban development, discount the optimum utilisation of land and as such cities become large consumers of land, by uncontrolled expansion and peri-urban area ?development. Since planning norms are? population based, they discount the optimum? usability of land as a valuable resource. Considering the fact that holding 2.4%(32 lakh Sqms) global land and housing 17.7% (1.41 billion) global population, India remains the most land stressed nation , having one of the lowest land, man ratio. Accordingly, optimum utilisation of the land resource, should form and remain the governing and guiding principle of master plan preparation.

·?????? Promoting Commercialisation; ?Making Master Plans for various cities remains largely an exercise focussing on? promoting commercialisation and generating resources for the state and the parastatal institutions, which are authorised and? given the charge of preparing and implementation? the Master Plans. Such plans are used primarily? for granting permission in terms of? change of land-use; granting approval of the projects undertaken in the private and the Government Sector; taking decisions regarding locating various projects related to housing, trade and commerce and allocating land for various uses in urban areas. In this exercise of promoting commercialisation, the larger interest of promoting public interest, ?ensuring infrastructures, services and? quality of life for the urban ?residents and? communities, gets lost and marginalised. Instead of promoting equity, Master Plans have been found to promote disparity and widen the gaps? between ?various strata of society. This invariably divides cities into distinct layers, showcasing different levels of services, amenities and quality of life. Heterogeneity existing in cities can? be largely attributed to the? way ,Master Plans? are conceptualized, ?prepared and implemented. ???

·?????? Marginalising Public Spaces; Connecting? local communities and promoting sustainability, public spaces are known to be the heart and soul of the cities. Public spaces are also known to make cities, happy, healthy, sustainable and? more productive. These spaces are also known to usher an era of? making cities socially more vibrant. Quality of life ?and social vibrancy , largely depends upon the quality of public spaces created in the cities. ?In addition, these public spaces are known to promote tourism, generate employment and promote local economy. Globally, iconic public spaces, like Times Square ,New York or Trafalgar Square? London, are known? to have branded these cities and helped in attracting millions of tourists annually, making valuable contribution in terms of; attracting numerous typologies of businesses, promoting economy, generating large casual employment, making optimum use of available space and bringing recognition and vibrancy to such cities. ???Looking at the entire context, role, relevance and importance of public spaces, it can be concluded that majority of urban ills have genesis in neglecting and marginalising public spaces in the cities. Despite distinct advantages ?and character, which public spaces ?provide to the cities, still they? don’t find appropriate space and importance in the study, analysis and proposals of the Master Plans. Excluding open spaces from its scope ?invariably? has led to ?the lopsided growth and? development of the city.

·?????? Ignoring Carrying Capacity; ?Master plans are ?generally prepared, based on demographic studies, ?assessing and evaluating existing infrastructures, studying prevailing ?urban problems? related to mobility, housing, pollution etc., without caring for available? resources ?and? carrying capacity of the city. Each city because of its peculiar ?location, ?physiography, accessibility, existing flora& fauna etc., has a well-defined carrying capacity, which is never assessed and evaluated. Accordingly, majority of towns ?are planned without having any knowledge and understanding of the inherent strength of the city. This leads to cities growing in an unplanned and haphazard manner, despite having a master plan. If the cities are planned,? based on assessing and evaluating carrying capacity of the city, master plans, thus prepared,? will be? in a much better ?position to rationally address the challenges ?posed by rapid urban growth.

·?????? Generating Waste; Cities are being planned, designed and operated, adopting a linear approach to? available resources, accordingly, majority of? cities have emerged as the major source of? generating large waste.? Master plans, ?prepared for the cities, invariably ignore and ?discount the ?optimum utilisation? of the available resources in the city, due to which? cities are? facing the challenge of? managing its waste. In order to rationalise the growth and development of cities and overcome the challenges of pollution, posed by waste generated, master plans need to embed? the principle of making cities zero waste. This can happen only when Master Plans of urban settlements are prepared,? based on? using and embedding the principle of? circular economy in the planning and development process. ,

·?????? Promoting Poverty; Despite the fact, majority of? developmental? challenges and? problems faced by urban areas has genesis in concentration of poverty in urban areas, still Master Plans prepared for the cities , never address issue of eradicating poverty,? to make cities safe and sustainable. ?As already stated, Master Plans are known to promote prosperity, at the cost of optimising poverty. Prevailing poverty? in the? urban areas invariably has led to growth of slums, mushrooming of? poor housing, haphazard and unplanned growth, lack of infrastructures and services, cities. Poverty is? also known to make cities largely unsafe due to increasing incidences of crime. Accordingly, it will be important that Master Plan must space empowering poor in the agenda of preparing? such plans? to make cities safer and more? sustainable.?

·?????? Excluding Stakeholders; ??Preparation of the Master Plans, in the present context is considered ?more ?as an official business and is generally undertaken as a government-led programme. Master Plans are prepared within four walls of agencies entrusted with the task of preparing such plans, with minimum involvement of stake- holders including people, communities, institutions, industry etc, to whom this plan is supposed to serve and whose needs and interests, it is supposed to meet ?and ?cater. There is little consultation with stakeholders to know their perception of issues related to? growth and development ?and ?options for ?future growth of the city. Master Plans thus prepared, do not reflect the ground realities and ?aspiration of? the people and largely remain a paper tiger. In the case of consultants being haired for preparation of town planning,? in the absence of in-depth knowledge and understanding of the city fabric, structure and issues, these plans remain generic in nature, having little local relevance. Such plans largely remain a copy-paste exercise ,leading to its non- implementation and rejection by majority of urban residents.

·?????? Absence of Technology; ?In majority of cases, Master Plans are prepared involving limited use of ?latest technologies involving IT, ITES, AI, GIS etc., available for mapping existing land use; documenting built structures; evaluating ground conditions and understanding issues and challenges faced by the city, in its growth and development trajectory. In the absence of such technologies, majority of base plans prepared for the city remain embedded with inaccuracies in mapping land and its existing conditions.? Absence of using latest technologies ?in preparations of different plans, invariably makes planning process ,both time consuming and ?cost-intensive, which invariably delays the plan preparation and negates its implementation. Absence of accurate? existing land use plans of cities, have been considered as one of the prime reasons, of causing inordinate ?delay in preparing Master Plans and its implementation. Using appropriate technologies can make? preparation of Master Plan more cost-effective and time -efficient.

·?????? Lack of Ownership; ?Considering large number of institutions/agencies operating in the domain of urban planning and development at local level, preparation of the Master Plans always remain an issue, with no agency coming forward to take the onus of such plans. Lack of ownership of Master Plan ,has emerged as ?one? of the ?prime roadblock ?delaying the ?preparation and ?non-implementation of these plans. In majority of cases, Master Plans? for cities are prepared by the Town Planning Development, which are then handed over to Urban Local Bodies for implementation within the existing urban area. However, there remains no consultation and involvement of ULBs, in the? preparation of the Master Plans, which they are asked to implement. This practice has led to making majority of Master Plans ineffective in promoting planned development of the urban areas.

·?????? Enlarging Urban Area ; Process of declaring large planning area, enlarging urban and urbanisable area in the successive plans has led to making city not only energy inefficient but also consumers of large amount of land and resources. It also increases the length, breadth and depth of network and services, making city development and maintenance ?unsustainable and cost-intensive besides creating large number of? problems related to, ?mobility, traffic, transportation and pollution. The approach of? providing? successive ring roads as a mechanism to define the future growth of cities, has invariably led to cities assuming large proportions, consuming large amount of agricultural land, besides promoting land speculation on large scale. Instead of making cities compact, cost-effective and operationally efficient, present process of preparing Master Plans, has ?invariably led to melting of city, consuming large resources and making cities unsustainable.??

4. Redefining Master Plans;

??In the words of Ishar Judge Walia, ‘Indian urban planning needs major overhaul—it is overly top down and controlling, not providing much needed guidance, coordination and integration’. Considering all the above issues, it becomes critical that the intent, content, scope along with entire process and procedure of preparing/approval of Master Plan is, objectively and critically, reviewed and reframed to make it an effective instrument and role model of promoting planned growth, sustainable development and? good governance. In order to rationalise the urban development process in the country, Government of India has launched a Smart City Mission covering initially 100 selected cities. Creating smart and sustainable ?cities would essentially requires new order of Master Plans, considering the contours and complexity of ?such urban settlements.

?New order of Master Plans would essentially involve, making planning people centric, transparent, community oriented and flexible. Its focus should be to minimize dualities and contradictions prevailing in urban areas and to promote development based on equity, inclusiveness and providing opportunities for all. ?Contours of Master Plans, will have to be redrawn /redefined with appropriate innovations/changes made in the intent, contents and scope of such plans. New order of Master Plans will not be merely land-use plans, defining/freezing the? future of the city for next two decades, indicating the use of every parcel of land. ?Master Plans should take ‘whole city’ approach to planning and ?should focus on the urban form, shape and typology of the city along with sustainability, environment, ecology and communities which will opt to live in the city. New breed of master plans ?should focus on, ?minimising consumption of resources and ?reducing generations of waste. These plans should ?have? genesis in nature and drive its resources from the nature. The new typology of Master plan should lay emphasis on making cities more humane and liveable.

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?These plans should also make cities finite and compact, where the pedestrianisation ,cycling? and public transport shall be preferred mode of travel. Such cites shall offer? appropriate space for living , working and assured quality of life, even to the poorest of the poor, to lead a dignified life. Based on nature and focussing on communities, the new breed of ?Master Plans shall involve and revolve around;

·?????? Imparting ?Flexibility ; ?Since cities are dynamic entities, ever changing, ever shaping, evolving and devolving, cities will require new order of planning? which should ?provide inbuilt flexibility to urban growth and development, for catering to urban dynamism. Accordingly, Master Plans prepared for the cities should? be dynamic in nature, growing, evolving and devolving with the growth of towns. New breed of Master Plans would be based on state art technologies and a distinct vision, evolved after detailed study, analysis and understanding of the city fabric and its growth potential, duly supported by detailed planning and development guidelines. The vision should be achieved through well-defined missions, evolved for different facets of city involving planning and development. Each development project will need to be evaluated for its appropriateness, ?in the context of defined vision and guidelines, by a multi-disciplinary team of experts involving all stakeholders, before acceptance and approval. The city planning ?should remain a? co-operative and collaborative effort of all professionals having wisdom, expertise, understanding , knowledge and skill related to growth and development of cities. Accordingly,? in the preparation of new Master plans, urban planners will be supported by experts representing different shades of city planning, urban design, ?urban growth , development and management to rationalize planning of the city. In addition to urban planners, architects, urban designers, landscape experts, engineers, service providers, environmentalists, transport experts, conservationists, art and culture historians and sociologists etc will have critical role and relevance ?in preparing Master Plans.

·?????? Valuing Nature; If divorcing Nature, from city planning and development, has been recognized as ?one of the prime reasons for majority of? ills and challenges facing urban settlements , then solutions to make cities sustainable, liveable,? safe, qualitative and inclusive, are also embedded in making Nature integral part of urban planning, development and? management ?processes . Accordingly, cities and nature need to be brought on the same wavelength/platform for collaboration, co-operation and mutual support and sustenance. Planning options used in preparing Master Plans must aim at enhancing and ?making value addition to existing natural resources, rather than muting and marginalising them. In search for appropriate options to? bring nature and cities on the common platform, it will be essential that while preparing Master Plans for the urban settlements, all the existing natural resources including flora, fauna, ?environment and ecology ?in the urban area, ?should be appropriately ?mapped, assessed and evaluated, in terms of ?their potential, role and relevance in the urban context and ?embed them in the planning and development process, without ?causing any damage and? destruction. Innovatively integrating and enhancing the natural resources in Master Plans, will help in not only ?making cities more happy, healthy, sustainable and vibrant places to live, ?but also will go? a long way in overcoming majority of urban related ills, known to? adversely impact environment and ecology.?

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·?????? Making ?Community Focussed ;. Focus of the Master plans shall be people and empowering communities.? Master Plans shall ?focus on ?promoting better relationship between living and working by adopting the mechanism of transit-oriented development. In this pattern, the focus shall be to provide housing, offices, work areas, commercial and institutions along the mass transport network provided within walking distance. Green spaces on the defined norms shall form integral part of urban living and working in order to promote highest order of environment and ecology.

·?????? Promoting ?Sustainability; ??For promoting higher order of sustainability, Master Plans ?should be prepared to promote inclusiveness, self-reliance and self-sustainability in the urban settlements, having minimum impact on local and global environment and ecology. Considering the major implications of urban areas, being largest consumers of energy and resources, generators of waste and emitters of greenhouse gasses , largely due to transportation and built environment, the new regime of Master Plans will focus on minimising travel and create buildings which are least consumers of energy and resources. In addition, Master Plans will focus on creating cities which are highly energy efficient. This would be made possible by adopting shape and size of the city which ?will make cities compact and finite, involving minimum travel and services, ?to reduce travel and minimise the extent of service network, to bring economy and operational efficiency in the city

·?????? Involving Regional Context; In addition, to looking inward, new regime of Master Plans should also be looking outward, so as to link the city with its surrounding areas/settlements. No city exists in spatial isolation. Every city has its periphery/area of influence to support it. This zone of influence varies with the size, location, primacy, accessibility, population, nature of specialisation, administrative status, amenities, services etc of the existing city . Existing pattern of ?preparing Master Plans, ignores the critical role and importance of periphery in sustaining/rationalizing the city growth and development. In fact, majority of prevailing urban ills have their genesis in ignoring the planned growth and development of surrounding urban/rural settlements. Accordingly, new regime of Master Planning will be based on the approach which would involve inward and outward looking at the cities. Most efficient cities in the world, have adopted Regional Perspective and not just looked at city’s growth. The Regional approach/model has helped them, in? not only minimizing local competition and conflicts, over/under investment in infrastructure but also overcoming confusion over role and responsibilities of various agencies and making city sustainable. In the process, looking cities in the regional context has promoted higher order of co-operation and ?integrated growth, of not only of the city but ?also of the region. Looking outward will also help cities in achieving the objectives of integration and decentralized planning, enshrined in 74th Constitutional Amendment Act,1992.

5. Preparing Better Master Plans; Despite the fact that urban India is ?globally ranked as the second largest urban system in the world, only about 40 percent cities, out of a total of 7935 urban settlements in the country, have completed master plans, even after seven decades of independence and completing twelve five-year plans of growth and development. In order to ensure that urban centres become ?sustainable and ?operate as engines of economic growth and usherers of new era of rapid, sustainable,? equitable growth, planners will ?have to put in? place a new order of planning and ?innovative system/process/mechanism, which would lead to preparing Better Master Plans for cities, on a time bound basis. This calls for changing the existing approach, intent, contents and scope of preparing Master Plans. In the new order, cities must be made to live, breathe and grow freely. Cities must provide ?universal supportive and ?create enabling environment and ?opportunities for promoting orderly development, attracting investment and ensuring quality of life besides providing opportunities, to all its existing and future residents, to lead an optimum and quality living. Looking at the entire context of making cities more humane, inclusive, safe , productive, qualitative,? liveable and ?sustainable, options for preparing new order of Master Plans should essentially ?involve and revolve around:

·?????? Defining a Realistic and Achievable Vision; for the city based on in-depth study, and analysis, including carrying out SWOT analysis, through a consultative process, involving all stakeholders, experts and parastatal agencies

·?????? Defreezing ?City; by changing approach of preparing Master Plans, from defining land uses of? all parcels of land included in the city, to providing a dynamic developmental framework within which city should grow freely, rationally and realistically, for meeting its ever-changing needs and aspirations of the communities and stakeholders, due to fast changing technologies and ?ever-changing urban contexts.

·?????? Making City Compact; by redefining shape, size and population of the city based on adopting high rise and high-density development mechanism to optimise the use of available land resource, minimise travel, change options for travel, reduce carbon footprints and limit the service network, to make city development, cost, resource and energy efficient.

·?????? Planning Cities Based on Carrying Capacity; New order of Master plans shall be prepared considering the carrying capacity of the area, which cities occupy,? in order? to make them sustainable, self-sufficient and self-reliant to meet its basic day- to- day needs, without compromising and damaging ?available resources, existing environment and ecology.

·?????? Making Cities ?Finite; In order to rationalise the growth and development of human settlements, Master Plans prepared must? try to make? cities finite in terms of area, population, infrastructure and resources. Infinite cities,? known for numerous uncertainties, invariably have led to misuse, abuse and marginalise the use of available? resource and its? optimum utilisation. Planning? finite cities will help in taking up development of new centres when existing cities achieve designed population, and ?make development spread rather than getting concentrated in limited human centres.

·?????? Making Housing for all- A Distinct Reality; ?Considering role, relevance and importance of housing, as a major determinant of quality of life, safety, security, identity of human? beings,? Master plans must include and involve,? providing and assuring, housing for all, as the basic and governing? principle of city planning in order to ensure that all residents are empowered to have access to affordable? housing, as one of? the fundamental rights. Accordingly, housing for all , as a theme,? for providing shelter to all social and economic categories shall be, adequately and appropriately, spaced in the intent, content and scope of such plan.??

·?????? Promoting Green Transport; ?Despite all efforts made, cities are suffering? from two worst gifts of urbanisation, travelling and traffic. People in? metropolises are? wasting major time of the day, in travelling between place of work and place of residence, and invariably fall victim to congestion. Emancipation from traffic blues should remain the one of the basic agenda of preparing Master Plans. This should be achieved and made possible by changing? approach to prepare Master Plans, ?from planning for vehicle to planning for people, with order of priority for travel placed at, pedestrianisation, cycling, mass transportation and personal vehicles, in that order of ?preference, to minimise congestion, lowering environmental pollution and avoiding traffic blues.

·?????? Making City Energy Efficient; Despite the fact ,globally cities have been reckoned to be the consumers of 60% of global energy; for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, appliances, computers, electronics, machinery, and public transport, besides generators of 70% of energy related caron emissions, still role, relevance and importance of minimising?? use of energy? by cities, has never? been embedded? in? preparing the Master Plans. Energy consumptions by cities can be considerably lowered by preparing ?energy efficient Master Plans by minimising energy ?consumption as the focus . Master plans can empower cities to reduce energy consumption by; adopting mixed land use planning, avoiding pure land use planning and redefining living-working-leisure relationship by adopting transit-oriented development approach in urban planning. Making innovative use of climate, ?solar radiation,? orientation in planning and designing of built environment, would help in creating zero car, zero energy, zero slum, zero waste? and? zero carbon cities.

·?????? Making Urban Villages integral part of Urban Planning Process; Majority of urban problems have genesis ?in the neglect of the rural areas.? Development of urban and rural settlements can be ?brought on the same platform, ?by defining a rational and realistic policy framework and agenda, for integrating, planning and development of villages, falling in urban/ urbanisable/ planning area, with urban settlements, in the preparation of the Master Plans.

·?????? Making Informal Sector integral part of planning process; ?Despite the fact, informal sector makes valuable contribution in servicing the city, generating employment and adding wealth to the urban? economy, still it remains marginalised? and largely ignored in the planning, development and management of the cities. This approach of marginalising? the informal sector, has led to large number of distortions emerging on the urban landscape. In order to overcome the developmental challenges and rationalise the planned growth, Master Plans prepared for the cities must ?earmark appropriate and dedicated space for the living and working of the informal sector, in order to enable the sector to play its critical role in urban emancipation and urban economy.

·?????? Creating Ownership of ?Master Plan; ?Ownership of Master Plans remains the biggest roadblock in the preparation of? a rational Master Plan and its effective implementation. Non-implementation of Master plans has genesis in? multiplicity of agencies operating in the urban planning process at the local level. Accordingly, it will be critical that a single agency should be vested with the power, authority, role and responsibility to prepare and implement the? Master Plan. Accordingly, legal framework related to urban local bodies, needs to be redefined to empower? ULBs to take the onus of undertaking the task of preparing and implementing the Master Plans, in co-ordination and collaborations with? other agencies operating at local level. However, it will be critical that ULBs must be vested with appropriate level of? technical and financial resources, to perform these functions, effectively and efficiently.

???????? Using latest, state of art and innovative Technologies; ?Information Technology, ITES, Artificial intelligence and GIS are known for its distinct advantages in bring economy, promoting efficiency and bringing transparency in any? urban planning operation. Accordingly, preparing, approval, implementation and interpretation of Master Plan? based on technologies? will help in not only making Master Plans more qualitative but also operationally? more effective and?? efficient. Using?? technology for consultation and receiving? suggestions from communities and stakeholders ?and communicating status of planning ?to the users and interest groups will ?help in? making Master Plans more effective, efficient and productive, Inherent strength and advantages of technologies can be used in the domain of undertaking detailed spatial data analysis; better understanding of current urban needs:? providing greater support for more informed decisions:? ensuring integration of large data; promoting efficient information management; ensuring efficient resource management: improving quality of? urban mapping and optimization of communication among stakeholders.

·?????? Using? Team-Based ?Approach; comprising of planners., architects’ engineers, urban designer, transport planner landscape expert, sociologist, geographer, environmentalist, conservationist? to prepare Master Plan and ?evaluate all projects presented for approval and implementation in city will help in not only ensure effective implementation of the Master Plan, but will also go a long way in making cities more vibrant, qualitative and sustainable.

·?????? Planning based on well- defined Parameters; ??Master Plans prepared for the city must include and involve specifying pre-defined norms and standards ?related to open spaces, services, mobility, housing, sanitation infrastructures, services, energy etc so to ensure the provision of such ?services and ?amenities ?on a defined scale to all the residents. Known to be eco-city, Tianjin, in China has been planned and developed based on 22? quantitative and 4 qualitative parameters to make ?new city a ?role model of sustainable development.

·?????? Addressing issues related to Poverty, Employment and Economy; Master Plans have been considered to be major promoters of prevailing dichotomies, contradictions and ?ever-widening gaps between communities besides promoting poverty and exclusion on large scale in urban areas. Strength of the Master Plans can be effectively leveraged to promote equity in urban growth by redefining approach to preparing such plan; ?from merely land use planning to ?spacing poverty, creating? opportunities of equitable economic development, ?ensuring environment? promotion and ?generating universal employment .

·?????? Making City Sustainable and Safe; ??Irrational growth, unplanned development, exclusion of ?local communities and marginalisation of nature, from planning process are making cities ?unsustainable? and unsafe for the? urban living. Accordingly, cities are becoming operationally inefficient and unsafe for the communities to live in. All this can be attributed to marginalisation of safety from the urban planning process. Cities ?can be made safe for the communities by preparing Master plan with focus on ?safety of the people and promoting visibility in all spaces used by the community.

·?????? Valuing Heritage;? ?With rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of urban spces, cities are fast losing enormous amount of? built/natural wealth inherited over a period of time. For preserving, protecting and promoting, Master Plans need to ?identify, map and detail out both natural and manmade ?heritage, existing in the city in order to link the city with its past history and? prevailing culture. Accordingly, Master Plans should include detailing out the existing status of such valuable assets, identify the challenges faced and define strategies to preserve , promote , protect and showcase the valuable heritage? by integrating? with the urban development process, to showcase and preserve past glory and cultural values of communities ?for? posterity

·?????? Adopting a Participatory Approach; will be critical to create a local ownership of the Master Plans by? actively? creating forum and institutional framework for involving people, communities, NGO’s, CBO’s, industry, trade & commerce, academic institutions etc.

·?????? Making Master Plan Promoter of Development; rather than controller of development by providing space for inclusion of all people centric development activities which promote and safeguards communities and city interest.??

·?????? Using Land 24x7x365; should remain critical while preparing Master Plans ?to ?promote the multiple use of precious urban land resource, optimise the use of available land,? minimise diversion of land under agriculture to non-agricultural uses, making cities more compact, ensuring optimum utilisation of infrastructure and to make urban development highly cost-effective and resource efficient. In addition, for making optimum use of land resource? in urban areas, mechanism of? promoting intensification and densification, must be built into the Master Plan by identifying areas where such options can be exercised.

·?????? Embedding Circular Economy; Existing breed of cities, have emerged as; large consumers of natural resources, store house and breeding grounds of the waste, making them highly unsustainable and inefficient. Adopting circular approach for all urban operations, offers distinct advantage and potential to eliminate all waste and bringing enormous economic, social, and environmental benefits besides decarbonising cities and making them vibrant, and sustainable. According to Ellen MacArthur , in the circular economy, waste is eliminated, products and materials are kept in use throughout their product lifecycle and natural systems are regenerated. Such an approach is dependent on systems designed with a focus on reuse, repair, refurbishment and when a product can no longer be of use, then recycling. Making cities least consumers of resources and generators of waste, will require Master Plans to be prepared, embedding the principle of circular economy in the planning process. In a city planned on the? principle of the circular economy, everything will be operating within an interconnected network of systems that are designed to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature. Such a city will be? based on? collaboration between citizens, government, research facilities, and businesses.? Entire city will be powered by renewable energy; products, services, infrastructure, buildings, and vehicles are designed to be durable, adaptable, modular, easy to maintain and repurpose, and locally sourced; everything can be composted, reused, or recycled, with net outcome? will be a thriving local economy that provides a vibrant, liveable and resilient way of life”.

·?????? ?Generating Resources; In order to make planned development a distinct reality, Master Plans should be able to generate resources for ?its preparation, implementation, revision and reframing besides creating/maintaining city/local level infrastructures, amenities and services. Accordingly, Master Plans must include and involve defining options using which the planned development can be made self-sustaining and self-supporting.

·?????? Redefining the Legal Framework; For preparing better Master Plan in a time bound manner and to make it ?more? community focussed, technology driven; simple; ?cost-effective, ?time- efficient and more participatory, will require the support of the enabling legal framework, which must be redefined and rationalised to make such plans a distinct reality.

·?????? Ensuring Effective Implementation of Master Plan; ?In addition to preparing Master plans , it will be important that ?approved Master Plans, must be implemented in ?letter and spirit, ?to achieve the goals and agenda defined in such plans. For effective Implementation of? the Master Plans at the ground level,? will require the support of creating/designating a dedicated agency, duly equipped with appropriate? resources, both manpower and financial,? having adequate legal backing? to rationalise and manage violators.

·?????? Creating Quality Public Spaces; Public spaces? remain critical for the social, economic, environmental and sustainable growth of the human settlements in general and urban centers in particular. However, ?pressure generated by urbanization and commercialization, has not only led to large scale encroachment on available public open spaces but has also put provision of new public spaces at premium. Marginalization and diluting of the provision of the public open spaces in the public domain,? can be largely attributed to, lack of understanding and appreciation, on the part of manpower deployed and agencies involved in urban planning, development and management, about the role relevance importance and criticality of these spaces, in making local communities/ urban areas and urban living, socially and environmentally. more happy, healthy, qualitative and meaningful. In the absence of specified norms and standards, provision of public open spaces remains at the whims and fancies, of the developers involved in developing townships and agencies empowered to approve the real estate projects. In majority of cases, it has been observed public open spaces provided at the local level? are generally spaced in the incidental/left over areas, having poor accessibility, limited visibility and minimal commercial values. Such marginalized public spaces are known to provide limited value and utility, to the local communities and cities. With rapid increase in global population and concentration of majority of population in urban centers, cities are becoming more and more crowded and congested. With 68% global population projected to live in cities by the year 2050, while occupying merely 3% of global land ,cities are likely to witness more congestion and concentration of population in defined urban areas. In the process, existing cities are likely to become more crowded having limited/ minimal availability of public open spaces for the use of communities. All this calls for relooking at the entire context of population growth, pattern of urabanisation, Master Plans used for urban planning and development,? to ensure that adequate quantity and quality of public places are made available at the local level, to meet the essential requirement of? vibrancy, outdoor living and socialization of communities in urban areas.

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·?????? Documenting Best Practices; In addition to defining various narratives stated above, Master Plans must also include ?best practice used, both globally and locally, in the domain of planning, development and management of? cities; empowering communities; ?providing basic infrastructures and? services; spacing poverty; minimising haphazard and unplanned development; leveraging circular economy; valuing heritage; optimising land; generating resources; optimising environment and ecology and ?making cities? safe , resilient, inclusive and sustainable.?

6. Bibliography

·?????? Delhi Development Authority, Master Plan Delhi-2021

·?????? Division of Planning , City of Trenton, NJ, ‘ Trenton? 250’

·?????? Government of India,? ‘Census of India,2011’

·?????? Government of India; Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India- Final Report- Niti Ayog, September, 2021?

·?????? Gupta JK , ‘Planning for Sustainable Cities’, published paper International Conference

·?????? ?Gupta JK; Reinventing , Rationalising and Revitalising the Public Spaces to Make Cities ; More Vibrant, Liveable and Sustainable; published paper JIIA

·?????? Gupta JK; Making Cities Net Zero Cabon – issues And Options; published? paper

·?????? https://www.reference.com/education/master-plan-5c6df9f53b18033f#,” What is a Master?? Plan’

·?????? ?https://www.citylab.com/tech/2012/08/master-planning-7935-indian-cities-and-towns/2835,? Master Planning 7935 Indian Cities and Towns

·?????? Isher Judge Ahluwalia , ‘Planning for Urban Development in India’, https://icrier.org/Urbanisation/pdf/Ahluwalia_Planning_for_Urban_%20Development.pdf

·?????? William Harris, ‘How Urban Planning? Works; https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/urban-planning.htm

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·?????? Author:

? *Ar. Jit Kumar Gupta

Former Advisor (Town Planning), Punjab Urban Development Authority

?????? Email: [email protected]