2011

Maharashtra Regional

Town Planning Act, 1966:

45 Years of Commitment

Efforts By: Ar. Omkar Parishwad

III Sem, MURP, SPA, Bhopal.

Study of ‘Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act’:

Amendments concerning TP Schemes (special emphasis on Pune

Region)

After the accession of ‘Development plan’ in the Bombay Town Planning Act in 1954 for Bombay

Province, came the concept of Regional Planning. This was incorporated in the MRTP Act, 1966; a

Model act for Maharashtra State which was based on the comprehensive planning theory. Other States

in India also followed this ideal act for Developmental needs. However as time passed the

implementation aspect went on remanding. This report consists of the current situation in MRTP Act in

comparison to the GTPUD Act, 1976 and the need to amendment for this act.

As part of internship assignment 2011

Historical Background:

Town Planning Law is not new in India. The history of town planning legislation in India

dates back to early part of the 20th century when the erstwhile Bombay Presidency took the

lead in enacting the first town planning legislation in the country viz. The Bombay Town

Planning Act, 1915 which came into force on 6th March, 1915. The geographical boundary

of the Gujarat State as is known today was then the part of the Bombay State. This Act was

then followed by other provinces later on .The Bombay act of 1915 mainly provided for;

i. The preparation of town planning schemes (TPS) for areas in course of development

within the jurisdiction of local authority, and

ii. The recovery by planning authority of betterment contribution from the owners of

benefitted lands.

Due to the rapid industrial growth coupled with increasing level of urbanization during mid-

century, the recognition of the need for viewing urban development as one whole integrated

development in which each sector has a definite role to play and not in unrelated manner, was

felt by the town planners. It was observed that T.P. schemes prepared under the 1915 act

resulted in the piecemeal planning having no relation with the adjoining areas.

Thus, to have a planned development of every square inch of the land within the municipal

limits the need for another enactment was unavoidable which leads to the enactment of

Bombay town planning act, 1954 replacing the 1915 act which came into force from 1st April

1957.the concept of development plan (DP) was introduced for the first time in 1954 act as

the main planning instrument retaining the TPS for implementation of the DP.

The Bombay act of 1954 was applicable to the erstwhile Bombay state, then comprising of

Saurashtra & Kutch area, Gujarat area, Vidharbha & Marathwada area. Since geographical

area of Bombay state was too large and because of the peculiarity of Saurashtra & Kutch

region, it was felt that separate town planning act on the basis of Bombay town planning act,

1954 is necessary. Thus a separate town planning at for a whole of the state of Saurashtra was

enacted viz. The Saurashtra Town Planning Act, 1955(Saurashtra Act No. XII of 1955).

The MRTP Act, 1966 promotes and regulates developments in the urban area and well as

areas having potential of being urbanized. It is a comprehensive planning act with

development functions. This Act comes under one of the five basic trendsetter models of

town and country planning in India and was adopted subsequently by other states like

Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh etc.

Objectives of Enactment of MRTP Act, 1966

The main objectives as mentioned in the preamble of the Maharashtra Regional and Town

Planning Act, 1966 are as follows:

To make provision for planning the development and use of land in “regions” established

for that purpose and for the constitution of Regional Planning Boards;

To make better provisions for the preparation of Development Plans with a view to

ensuring that Town Planning Schemes are made in a proper manner and their execution is

made effective;

To provide for the creation of New Towns by means of Development Authorities;

To make provisions for the compulsory acquisition of land required for public purposes

in respect of the plans;

And for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

The Salient features of this act include the provisions for Regional Planning, Development

plan, Town planning Schemes and finally Implementation schemes such as Land Acquisition,

Transfer of Development Rights and Plot Reconstitution Techniques. The Finance Aspect

(Finance account and Audit) and the Governance for Plan Enforcement (Planning Authority)

are available under this Act.

Current Situation & Emerging Issues:

Inspite of the fact that this town planning Act of 1966 has done a good job and lot of planning

activities are being observed in the state yet few shortcomings, as observed, needs a full

consideration of the concerned authorities so that a time bound plan or a scheme can be

prepared and implemented in the State to cater to the needs of the ever increasing urban

society.

i. There is no definite time limit prescribed for the preparation of development plan by the

planning authority and its approval by the State Government.

ii. Reservations on the private lands for various public purposes or for the local bodies or for

the Union/States serve no useful purpose. By and large these reservation remains on the

paper itself.

This can be overcome by designing a suitable mechanism for generation of finances or

redesigning through town planning schemes. The agency for which the reservation has

been kept may be asked to pay some percentage of the market value of land to the

planning authority at the time of preparation of the plan itself and if they don’t acquire the

land once the development plan comes into force the amount may be forfeited. This will

create a sense of seriousness on the part of the concerned agency. Otherwise the principle

of balanced development and proper planning of the areas will fail.

iii. Development plans prepared are too idealistic and bear no relation to the implementing

capacity of the planning authority.

The act must have clear cut provision for the source of finance and how the plan is to be

implemented within the time frame so as to achieve the objective of the plan in its true

sense.

iv. The act casts an obligation on the planning authority to prepare a development plan but it

cast no similar obligation to implement it. If a draft development plan is not prepared

within the time limit prescribe by the Government, it intervenes and appoints an officer to

prepare the plan on behalf of the authority, but the act is silent if there is a failure by the

planning authority, in implementing the approved plan properly and within the given time

frame. Therefore, the act must provide unambiguously obligatory duty of plan

implementation as the plan preparation is. There is provision in the act (section 96) for the

submission of annual reports to the state Government by the planning authority but the

authority is not submitting it or not acting in accordance with it, the Act does not say as to

be added in the present Act.

v. Even in the case of town planning scheme also the town planning officer is taking long

time in its preparation since there is no time limit prescribed under this Act, for the

extension of periods by the state Government, for preparation of preliminary and final

scheme.

Therefore, some time frame is a must for preparation of a town planning scheme. This will

obviously reduce the court cases and financial burden on the planning authority.

Rapid Urbanization is the current status of the development in Maharashtra. The population

density as per 2011 census is 365 ppkm2. Nearly 42% urbanisation is accounted as per

population figures. The rural figures have gone up since 2001 census as the State policy was

diverted, but still the overall statistics suggests the need for a more progressive and rapid

development in Maharashtra. This pressure on implementation can be abridged by the TP

Schemes.

A committee headed by Shri. Landge, deputy director town planning Sunil Sukhlikar, former

director town planning A R Patharkar, former deputy director of town planning Y S Kulkarni,

former joint director B V Kolhatkar and architects Anand Patwardhan and Rajiv Raje; was

formed for this purpose of amending the shortcomings of MRTP Act, 1966.

There is provision of TP scheme in the Act. The scheme allows an alternate mechanism to

pool in land for urban development activities at a faster pace, without taking recourse to

compulsory acquisition of land and benefits the land owners financially. The scheme is

conceptualised as a joint venture between the local authority and the land owners, who

voluntary agree to pool in their land, redistribute the reconstituted plots among themselves

and share the development cost.

After the development, the price of the same plots goes up and the owners get more benefits

despite the area of their plots being reduced. Feeling the urgency to put the scheme to

effective use, the state government had a year ago issued an ordinance to amend the TP

scheme and send it to the Centre for its consent.

Town Planning Schemes

As per the provisions of MRTP Act, a Planning 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.

Declaration of intent: The Planning Authority shall declare the intent of making a Town

Planning Scheme and its publishing it in official gazette. The Planning Authority in

consultation with the Director of Country Planning shall make the draft scheme and publish

the notification in an official gazette within twelve months of the declaration of intent.

Contents of draft scheme:

a. Ownership, area and tenure of original land holdings.

b. Details of reservation, acquisition or allotment of land.

c. Extent and boundaries where plot reconstitution is required.

d. Total cost estimations.

e. Allotment of final plots to owner and transfer of ownership.

Objections and suggestion of affected persons to draft scheme to be considered before getting

it approved from state government.

Power of state government to sanction draft scheme: Within six month of notifying in the

official gazette about preparation of draft scheme, the planning authority shall submit it to

state government after incorporating the objection and suggestion and modification, if any.

Honouring the statutory plans: There is a restriction on use and development of land after

the declaration of Town Planning Scheme. Within the area included in the scheme no person

shall change land use, or carry out any development with necessary permissions from the

planning authority.

The state government sanctions the final scheme and as it may think fit may withdraw a

scheme and once the final scheme comes to force, the Planning Authority has the powers of

eviction from a said property, demolition, alteration work etc. and execution of any work

deemed important under the scheme. For any variations on ground sure to errors,

irregularities or informalities etc. Planning Authority may implement the changes after

getting permission from the state government in writing.

Overview and Effects of Amendments in TP Schemes (Pune region)

Unplanned growth has given rise to large-sale illegal construction in the urban regions such

as Pune, Mumbai, etc. The state cabinet's decision to amend the act for speedy

implementation of town planning schemes will definitely benefit such regions.

Provisions in the present act permit town planning or area development schemes only in

regions where the development plan is in force. The changes in the act will allow proper

planning even in areas not covered by the development plan. This will pave the way for

planned development in the fringe areas.

Town-planning schemes, where land is pooled for amenities and facilities, benefit the

community which gets an equitable share of the land. The schemes, the best way to execute

the DP of a city, are for a small area; can be incorporated into the development plan.

The important amendments include the mandatory three and a half-year timeframe for

preparing the TP scheme and inclusion of fringe areas of urban centres. There is blatant

violation of the 0.4 Floor Space Index (FSI) in the fringe villages leading to illegal

construction, leading to haphazard growth.

Pune Region: In 1997, 36 villages were included in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)

limits. As a result, the PMC limits increased from 146 sq km to 450.69 sq.km. However, in

2001, after a few villages were delinked, the PMC area was reduced to 243.96 sq.km. During

the 180-year span from 1817 to 1997, urban areas in and around the city (including areas

under adjoining municipal bodies) have grown from five sq km to 700 sq km

The city has especially expanded in post-Independence era. According to the Pune Municipal

Corporation estimated statistics between 1901 and 2001, the city's urban population has

grown from 1.64 lakh to about 32 lakh.

The 1987 DP of Pune city has not been implemented fully till date. Only 35 to 40 % for the

old Pune city limits has been executed. The dismal implementation has badly affected the

city's development. When the execution is low, it results in unplanned development and puts

pressure on the existing infrastructure. Once the act is amended, the civic body can

implement the pending DP for the old city under the TP scheme rules.

Geographical and demographical changes had raised technical hitches in the implementation

of the 1987 DP plans under the TP scheme; however, the 1987 DP is good for the city as it

protects the hills and environment. Growth in the fringe areas would reduce the burden on the

city and shorter plans will mean restricting wayward growth in Pune region. Pune will grow

and nearby villages will have to be merged in the civic limits. Once the Pune Metropolitan

Region Development Authority is in place, integrated planning of the entire region will be

possible.

TP schemes will check illegal constructions in the fringe areas and strict implementation of

the Development Control (DC) rules in a 10-km radius of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad

municipal corporations can control the chaos. TP schemes could thus be implemented in the

old city areas as well.

The process for the existing town-planning schemes is complex and time consuming. In the

new model the local body will appoint an arbitrator to hear suggestions and objections and

the TP scheme will start immediately. The mandatory timeframe is the most important factor

in this model. Pune had implemented TP schemes in Shivajinagar, Parvati and Sangamwadi.

But these schemes took many years for completion; the amendments would benefit the 23

merged villages in the Pune.

The DP for these villages is pending with state government. Now, the civic body will not

have to wait for the approval of the DP and can go ahead with the TP schemes. TP schemes

are proposed in over 1,400 acres in the fringe villages. Also, TP schemes will address the

infrastructure gap.

TP schemes could be implemented in the old city areas, but with limitations. TP schemes are

exclusively for developing areas and Pune's surroundings have a huge potential for

development.

Push for nodes, satellite towns: The amendment could revitalise the state government's

initiatives to develop satellite nodes and townships with good connectivity to reduce the

population burden on Pune. A proposal to lay suburban rail lines to Daund, Mulshi and

Lonavla has been submitted to the central government and the issue of more concessions to

townships along the proposed ring road is being pursued. Nodes are centres of activity, such

as commercial centres, retail centres, education facilities and others. A satellite town or a

satellite city is a urban planning concept. These are smaller local bodies adjacent to a major

city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from suburbs and sub-divisions.

The urban development department has formulated the proposal to enable 'land pooling'

from various owners in a layout and carry out 'composite development'

Certain provisions in the proposal were borrowed from Gujarat, where such a model has

been successful.

The amendments will be introduced in the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act,

1966.

The move will enable sustainable and planned development in fringe areas, where

urbanisation is on the rise.

Existing MRTP provisions permitted town planning or area development schemes to be

undertaken only in regions where the development plan is in force, new provisions will

allow such planning even in areas not covered by the DP.

The new law will also limit the timeframe for implementing a TP scheme in a layout

within 3.5 years of "declaration of intention" to develop the plot. The existing TP norms

stipulated no such time limits, with the result that only 45 schemes have so far been

implemented since 1915 including four schemes in Pune city.

New norms have been introduced to increase participation of land owners in such

schemes.

Gujarat Model Act

In exercise of the powers conferred by the Section 3 of the Gujarat State Legislature

(Delegation of Powers) act, 1976, the President enacted the Gujarat Town Planning and

Urban Development Act, 1976 to consolidate and amend the law relating to the making and

execution of development plans and town planning schemes in Gujarat, which came into

force from February 1, 1978.

In exercise of the powers conferred by the section 118 of the above Act, the Gujarat

government made rules consistent with the provisions of this act, the Gujarat Town

Planning and Urban Development Rules, 1979.

The Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act (GTPUDA), 1976 provides an

alternative to the traditional model of infrastructure development. GTPUDA, 1976 is a two-

stage process for urban infrastructure development.

In the first stage, city wide Development Plan (DP) is prepared and in the second stage TP

schemes, to realise proposals in the DP. The second stage involves land appropriation, land

readjustment, and infrastructure development plan and financial provisions. Land owners

are involved in the process which includes reconstituting of properties, appropriating land,

levying betterment charges, compensation and suggestions and objections. The expansion

area is divided into smaller areas between 1 and 2 sq. km each. Each area is taken up for

TPS.

Land readjustment and pooling is the key in Gujarat model. In this the developing authority

(Municipal Corporation) does not acquire land for the project (roads, infrastructure etc.)

Land pools are formed for the implementation of the project and then the remaining area is

reconstituted into plots as per the plan and given back to the original owners. The land

reallocated is proportionate to the size of the original plot. The cost to develop the

infrastructure is raised through the collection of the development charges from the owners

or through selling the land pooled for the common purpose. Landowners are free to sell the

developed plot which generally gets higher price.

Inferences

The MRTP Act of 1966 has tried to fulfil its objectives to a great extent, but looking to the

fact that most of the Maharashtra’s economic growth coupled with urban development are yet

to come in the near future, a more comprehensive law on town planning and urban

development is required to be enacted, to be conceived in a regional perspective. Reasonable

time limit for preparing the different stages of the plans/schemes by the planning authority as

well as its approval by the State Government must be provided for in the town planning Act.

Also care should be taken to have provisions which are workable in the actual practice. The

planning legislation should be such as to be able to succeed in the court of law and attain its

objectives.

Undoubtedly, any planning legislation has to be dynamic and for well-being of the people.

However, it may have different provisions with respect to the local needs. Besides, it must

also be able to adapt the advancement in the technology and modern tools available to the

planners. Geographical Information System (GIS) is a fast emerging area in the field of

information technology which has influenced the planning process. The maps/plans generated

from the GIS provide improved clarity, easier to understand, does not allow for manipulation

and are better product than conventional maps, complete transparency which is the keyword

today can be attained while during the preparation of plans and schemes. Due to absence of

strong legal backing, Government is unable to exploit this technology. Therefore, the

planners and legal experts are required to work out a mechanism to incorporate

corresponding provisions in the planning legislation considering its tremendous utility in the

field of planning practices. Thus this congress is timely and appropriate platform to discuss

this aspect at length and suggest suitable recommendations in the planning legislation.