Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act

2011
Maharashtra Regional
Town Planning Act, 1966:
45 Years of Commitment
Efforts By: Ar. Omkar Parishwad
III Sem, MURP, SPA, Bhopal.

As part of internship assignment
2011

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.

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.

Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act

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