Urban Studies: Unit 3

Town Planning and Urban Design Legislation

Certain planning legislation introduced in different parts of India, before independence. There is no continuity
or uniformity in the legislations of various States. Different States had different provisions for town planning
measures either under the Municipal Acts or under special enactments, such as City Improvement Trust Acts or
Town Planning Acts. It is only after independence that all the States are putting their heads together to evolve a
common policy on town and country planning matters. With the growth of urban problems, the municipalities
utterly failed to respond to the changing situations.

The work involved in planning, improvement and extension of towns was so complex and great that the
municipalities were unable to carry on these works effectively. There were reasons for their failure. Firstly, due
to ignorance and disunity, secondly, lack of imagination and interest, thirdly, lack of trained personnel and
sufficient funds and fourthly, lack of legal backing to effectively implement town planning schemes and
projects. As a result, overcrowding, congestion, deterioration and haphazard development have seen in most of
our cities and towns. However, certain enlightened States enacted special acts enacted and they give an idea as
to the measures taken and the efforts made by government, though in a very limited way, to improve the living
conditions of the people in urban areas and guide the future growth of the urban centres in a planned manner.
The main town planning acts include;
UN-HABITAT’S WORK ON URBAN LEGISLATION

UN-Habitat’s knowledge pertaining to legal reform is used to support cities. In addition, UN-Habitat is
developing mechanisms for the creation and dissemination of legal knowledge and a network to develop
capacity and access external expertise, with the aim of producing:• an increased awareness of legal systems
operating at the city and national levels;• recommendations for more robust strategies to reform urban legal
systems; and• improved capacities of local authorities to design and implement legal reform.

In undertaking it’s work, UN-Habitat places a priority on practical interventions that are tailored to national
and local contexts and needs. These priorities depend upon effective partnerships with local authorities, local
experts, and affected communities. Through this approach, UN-Habitat provides the support local and national
governments need to incrementally improve their urban legal frameworks while also developing innovative
solutions to shape future urban development

The Model Town and Country Planning Act of 1960

With the increase in the growth and population of the country, the government found the old legislation
ineffective in tackling the city’s problems. Thus, the need for comprehensive legislation arose. To solve the
problem of the older enactment, the Institute of Town Planners, founded in 1951, drafted the Model Town
Planning Act 1957. The Model Town Planning Act 1957 got circulated among all the states for proper
implementation. Further, the revision of the Act by the Town and Country Planning Organisation, Government of
India (the Central, regional and Urban Planning Organisation) in consultation with the State Planning
department in 1960.

It only provides the essential guidance of the town planning legislation, and these guidelines satisfy the
conditions and requirements to implement the Act.

However, some states did not enact town planning legislation even after Independence. The concept of town
planning remains new to the Indian States.

The Model Town Planning Act got published in 1957. The enactment delta with the constitution of the planning
authority for large areas of the state’s urban centers. This enactment contains a necessary provision that
comes under or outside municipal limits. This legislation’s objective was to regulate the planned growth of land
and the development of the state. Further, the Act aims to execute the town planning scheme in the state.

Importance of the Act

Following are the points stating the importance of the Act:

To create promising conditions for the planning and redevelopment of urban and rural regions to provide
civic and social amenities.
To prevent uncontrolled development of land.
To maintain and improve the current recreational and other facilities.
To provide the facility for the orderly growth of commerce and industry.

Features of the Model Town Planning Act of 1960

The Act provides various essential provisions such as:

 It provides the constitution of the state town planning board. The aim of constituting a state town
planning board is to advise the state government on planning and local development and to operate a
board principle and policy for the balanced development of the state.
The government under the Act is empowered to declare any area of the state as a local planning area. Such
a provision is not applicable in the military cantonment area.
The state government can also subdivide the planning area. Further, planning constitutes a special
planning authority or a town improvement board to function as a planning authority.

Constitution of the Planning Authority

The planning authority shall consist of the following member:

A chairman whom the state government appoints

A town planning officer who is the member secretary
Representative of the local bodies that come under the jurisdiction of the planning area
Appointment of three other members by the State Government

Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966

The MRTP Act of 1966 is an act to make the provision to plan the development and establish the purpose to use
the plan to constitute the Regional Planning Boards. Further, the Act aims to make better provisions for
developing development plans to ensure the town planning scheme is adequately prepared and effectively
executed. The MRTP Act of 1966 contains provisions for new towns using development authorities.

The MRTP Act, 1966 also contains provisions for the compulsory acquisition of land required for a public
purpose related to the plans.

Objectives of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966

Following are the objectives of the MRTP Act are:

For Planning Development in “Regions”

For Constitution of Regional Planning Board
For the creation of new towns
For making provision for compulsory acquisition of the land
For the implementation of the Land Acquisition, plot reconstruction and many more

The Model Regional and Town Planning and Development Law of 1985

The Model Town and Country Planning Law got formulated in 1960 by the Town and Country Planning
Organisation. TCPO revised the model act in 1985 to enact a comprehensive Urban and Regional Planning
Legislation in all the states and the UTs.

This legislation provides for the constitution of the State Regional and Town Planning Board by the State
Government. The purpose behind the formation of the state regional and town planning board is to advise the
tracing of the region for the planned development. The Act further directs the preparation of the development
authorities’ metropolitan, regional and area planning.

The Model Regional and Town Planning and Development Law of 1985 provides provisions to set up
metropolitan, regional and zone planning and development authorities for various urban and rural areas within
the state to organise the development plans and proper enforcement and implementation of those plans.

For coordination of the planning and implementation of the physical and development programmes, the Model
Law provides the following steps for the administration of the law:

To prepare an existing land use map.

To prepare an outline for the comprehensive development plan and the enforcement of such a plan.
To prepare details to scheme for the development or redevelopment envisaged in the plan and their
implementation.

Many states developed the Town and Country Acts based on the Model Regional and Town Planning and
Development Law, 1985.

Urban Development Town Formation and Implementation Guidelines, 1996

The need arose in 1996 to assist the administrators and municipal town planners. Thus, to help the
administrator, municipal town planners developed the guidelines for Urban Development Plans Formulation and
Implementation. These guidelines were required due to the inefficiency of urban local authorities and to
overcome the deficiencies of the master plan identified in 1995 during the National Workshop related to town
planning held in Delhi.

The Urban Development Town Formation and Implementation Guidelines formed the guidelines for:

Preparation of spatial development plans and resource implementation plans for small, medium and large
urban centres
Formation of an efficient implementation mechanism that brings out innovative ideas to promote planned
spatial-economic development of urban areas
Simplify town planning laws
Recommend the interrelated plan as a perspective plan and development plan

Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines, 2014

The Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation guidelines include:

Integrated regional and urban development that focuses on spatial planning

The regional spatial development frame provides the backdrop for settlement and local area planning.
To adopt a paradigm shift towards the planning and development of compact, green, innovative and safer
cities.
To ensure the responsible carrying out of urban and regional planning tasks.
The guidelines include transportation planning consisting of street, road, mass rapid transit system, and
improvement of the public transport system so that it increases makes public transportation the backbone
 of the urban regional development.
The plan for sustainable land development includes the selection of the proper density of the development
while considering the environment, provision and the cost of infrastructure and mobility.
Sustainable management of resources by realising the pressure on natural resources, including the
planning of infrastructure development, while emphasising the sustainability of the natural resources
The identification of planning regions as administrative regions like districts and metropolitan areas,
investment regions and particular regions

The Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR)

The Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) was unveiled by the Maharashtra
government to strengthen real estate development in the state. This new set of rules governs the real estate
development. These rules may bring uniformity in width of roads, size of rooms etc. This is to increase the stock
of affordable housing projects and improve ease of doing business. It will help in the developers to improve their
resource management.

Key Features of the Regulations

The regulations prohibit the construction in the areas between the blue flood line and river bank within 100
metres of high flood line of natural lakes. The Blue flood line marks once in twenty-five years of flood line. On the
hand, the red flood line marks once in hundred years of flood line. Flood line is the maximum level to be reached
by the flood waters.

The regulations state that 10% of any layout should be earmarked for recreational purposes.

The regulations also state that 5% of layout up to 10,000 square metres and 10% of layout above 10,000 square
metres shall be reserved for amenities.

The construction of jogging, pathways and cycling tracks are allowed only at distance of 15 metres away from
river banks.

The minimum road width along buildings that are more than 24 metres tall should be 12 metres. It should be 15
metres if the buildings are 50 metres tall.

High Floor Space Index (FSI) has been proposed for certain uses in congested and non-congested areas. FSI
base of 1.10 for roads less than nine metres wide has been proposed and 1.20 for roads more than 30 metres
wide has been proposed.

The regulations also apply to other provisions such as slum rehabilitation, heritage conservation, transfer of
development rights, etc. The rules will help the highly congested Mumbai city and other upcoming metros in the
state.

Types of Development Control Regulation (DCR)

1. Town and country planning act

It involves the creation and implementation of strategies to provide better infrastructure for people.

2. Zoning regulations act

It deals with the allocation of land for specific purposes and keeping a check on the use of land and the
construction norms.

3. Slum clearance act

The major focus is on reducing the number of slums and ensuring the rehabilitation of inhabitants.

4. Building bye-laws

These are a set of regulations imposed on developers, which must be mandatorily met during construction.

5. Periphery control act

The purpose is to protect peripheral land that comes under the jurisdiction of a State from all sorts of
encroachments and illegal use.

6. Land acquisition act

Acquiring land for governmental projects and compensating the landowners appropriately.

Controllable Factors under DCR

1. Floor Space Index (FSI)

It is the ratio of the covered area of a building or the built-up area to the area of the plot on which the building is
meant to be built. Floor Space Index is the total area (including all floors) that can be built upon a plot, leaving
the remaining as open space. It is authorized by the government for a particular locality. It is sometimes termed
as Floor Space Compensation Ratio (FSR), Floor Area Ratio (FAR), site ratio or plot ratio. FSI rules are usually
based on the National Building Code.

As per the new rules, balconies, flower beds, voids and niches are calculated in FSI, and to compensate for the
loss, the government has permitted fungible FSI up to 35 percent for residential and 20 percent for commercial
developments.

2. Parking space

There is a specified space for parking in residential, commercial and educational institutions as per the defined
rules in different States. However, as per the norms, parking size should be a minimum of 2.5 m x 5.5 m (motor
vehicle), 1.2-3 sq m (two wheeler), 3.75 m x 7.5 m (transport vehicle)

3. Size of plots
As per the DCR, the size of plots appropriate for residential development ranges according to the income level
of occupants. The ideal size requirements under DCR are -

Low-Income Group (LIG) – 135 sq m to 180 sq m

Mid-Income Group (MIG) - 216 sq m to 360 sq m
High-Income Group (HIG) - 486 sq m to 972 sq m

4. Lifts

A building with a height of more than 13 m must have a lift from the ground floor. The minimum capacity of the
lift should be six persons.

5. Fire Safety

Buildings exceeding three floors need a certificate of approval from the Fire Department. Moreover, every floor
with more than 150 sq m of floor area and a capacity of over 20 people should have at least two doorways, along
with a staircase for the fire exit.

6. Structural design and services

The architectural design should be made as per the prescribed norms of the National Building Code (NBC) of
India. The building must possess plumbing facilities, protection from lightning, electrical installation and air-
conditioning, to name a few.

Factors contributing to non−compliance of the development control regulations in India

1. Failure of planning process to take account of ground realities and reset the planning guidelines, thus
resulting in supply side shortages in terms of legitimate spaces for various land uses.
2. Weak enforcement machinery is responsible for the non-implementation of building laws and regulations.
Implementation of development policies has been characterized by delays and poor execution of projects
and programmes by nodal service providing agencies, lack of institutional and inter-sectoral coordination
framework for development planning and the inadequate participation by the beneficiary population.
3. Unrealistic and cumbersome regulations including complex development control norms and building
byelaws along with long drawn approval.
4. Absence of proper standing of institutional mechanism for seeking justifiable modifications/ relaxations in
the existing building code and land use regulations. In recent years, there has been considerable debate
and criticism leveled at the management of local government and legal system as it does not provide for
quick and apt resolutions of building violation issues, which result in delays and misuse of the system.

Ways to improve the enforcement of development regulations

Simplification of development control requirements by simplifying procedures and introducing

appropriate policies/ zoning regulations while safeguarding the health and environment and not damaging
the economic base of the activities concerned.
Revisiting the principles on which development control is based. As in case of zoning systems, certainty for
developers is achieved at the cost of inflexibility for unforeseen demands and needs; while in discretionary
 systems flexibility to accommodate rapid and unforeseen changes comes at the cost of uncertainty and
greater opportunities for corruption. It has been recommended that a system needs to be evolved to
achieve a workable compromise between these principles.
Strengthening the enforcement capacity to monitor and take action on illegal developments and violations
of development controls. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of development controls, it is
important that rather than devoting resources to improving the quality of urban spatial plans and
development regulations, urban managers should concentrate on governance. It is necessary to make the
whole system of plan formulation and implementation more dynamic and responsive to changes. For this,
the planning legislation will have to be modified, updated and made more citizens friendly.

Building bye-laws:

Building bye-laws, also known as building codes or regulations, are a set of rules and guidelines established by
local, regional, or national authorities to govern the construction, renovation, and maintenance of buildings.
These bye-laws are essential for ensuring the safety, structural integrity, and functionality of structures and
promoting the well-being of occupants and the environment. However, the specifics of building bye-laws can
vary significantly from one jurisdiction to another, reflecting local conditions, cultural preferences, and
technological advancements.

Building bye-laws serve as essential legal instruments employed to govern and control various aspects of
construction, including parameters such as building coverage, height, the extent of construction, and
architectural designs. These regulations play a crucial role in steering and managing the development of a
region in an organised and sustainable manner.

In addition to these primary functions, building bye-laws encompass a broader set of responsibilities, such as
promoting safety, ensuring adherence to environmental standards, facilitating urban planning, and
harmonising with the cultural and historical context of the area. These multifaceted regulations thus serve as a
cornerstone in the responsible and well-balanced growth of a locality.

The purpose of the building bye-laws is:

Ensure safety in construction.

Regulate building design and size.
Prevent unplanned development.
Promote environmental considerations.
Enhance urban aesthetics.
Facilitate ease of business.
Address emerging technologies.
Ensure public health and accessibility.

Objectives of Building Bye-laws

The Building Bye-laws serve the following objectives:

 Guidelines for Architects and Engineers: Building bye-laws serve as crucial guidelines for architects and
engineers, facilitating the pre-planning of building provisions and activities, which enhances the
construction process's efficiency and effectiveness.
Preventing Unplanned Development: One of the primary roles of building bye-laws is to prevent haphazard
or unplanned development, ensuring that new constructions align with the broader urban planning goals.
Ensuring Safety: Building bye-laws are instrumental in safeguarding the lives and well-being of those who
work and reside within these structures. They address concerns related to fire safety, noise control, health
hazards, and structural integrity.

Key Aspects Governed by Building Bye-laws

The various aspects of Building Bye-laws are:

Set-back or Building Line: Building bye-laws dictate the minimum open space required in front of
buildings facing a road, known as the set-back or building line. This regulation aims to maintain street
aesthetics, prevent overcrowding, and enhance safety by improving visibility. Set-back areas can also be
repurposed as parking spaces or green areas.
Floor Space Index (FAR) or Floor Area Ratio: FAR, expressed as the ratio of a building's total floor area to
the land area it occupies, is used to control the intensity of development. It's a tool for regulating
population density. For instance, a FAR of 1.5 means the total floor area is 1.5 times the land area.
Built-up Area: The built-up area is the plot area minus the space allocated for open areas. Building codes
specify the maximum permissible built-up area based on the plot size to prevent overdevelopment.
Size of Rooms: Building bye-laws stipulate minimum room sizes to ensure adequate space for health and
proper ventilation. Different types of rooms have specific size requirements, promoting comfortable living
conditions.
Height of Buildings: The height of buildings is determined based on street width, to maintain urban
aesthetics and safety. Narrower streets have lower height allowances.
Lighting and Ventilation: Building codes mandate the provision of windows and ventilators to ensure
sufficient room lighting and ventilation. The minimum opening areas are stipulated for different climate
conditions.
Water Supply and Sanitary Provisions: Building codes set standards for water supply and sanitation
facilities, such as taps, sinks, water closets, and washbasins, based on the type of building.
Structural Designs: Building bye-laws require structures to be designed to withstand safe loads,
earthquakes, and other environmental factors. General guidelines for foundation depth, width, and
concrete usage are provided.

Overview of Model Building Bye-Laws

The Town and Country Planning Organization (TCPO) formulated the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016,
designed to regulate construction activities for urban local bodies, state governments, and urban
authorities. These updated bye-laws represent an enhanced version of the Model Building Bye-Laws
2004. The origins of this regulatory framework can be traced back to 2003 when the Ministry of Urban
Development initiated its development following the devastating 2001 Bhuj earthquake. The Model
Building Bye-Laws take into account various critical aspects, including structural integrity, rainwater
harvesting, wastewater management, solar heating, fire-resistant construction methods, and more.
These bye-laws were distributed to all states, with 22 states subsequently undertaking comprehensive
revisions to the Model Building Bye-Laws 2004. The need for these revisions stemmed from several
significant factors, including the Swachh Bharat Mission, the desire to promote ease of doing business, the
incorporation of emerging technological advancements, environmental considerations, and the paramount
concern for safety and security.
In 2015, the Ministry of Urban Development identified the need for additional amendments to the Model
Building Bye-Laws 2004. These updates aimed to include provisions for solar roof installations, specific
building guidelines for construction in hazard-prone areas, the creation of barrier-free environments to
accommodate the elderly, children, and persons with disabilities, as well as the assessment of the impact of
electromagnetic radiation in various locations.
Subsequently, the draft of the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 was circulated to various stakeholders,
including Central Government agencies, the Urban Development Corporation, and specific government
local bodies and authorities. In 2015, a national workshop was organised to gather suggestions and
feedback on the draft, with 110 participants offering valuable insights. Key areas addressed included
norms for low-income housing, necessary updates to the Indian Standards (IS) code issued by the Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS), provisions for parking spaces for vehicles, standards for high-rise buildings, the
promotion of green building practices, streamlining building plan approval processes for ease of doing
business, and revisiting fire safety regulations, particularly concerning staircases and exit routes.