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Draft bill proposing council of town, country planners in works
The concept of the bill is being discussed within the ministry at the moment, a MoHUA official said, asking not to be named
The Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) is working on a draft bill to bring focus on urban planning by creating a National Council of Town and Country Planners that will set standards, benchmarks and code of ethics for professionals working in the field, according to senior government officials aware of the matter.
The concept of the bill is being discussed within the ministry at the moment, a MoHUA official said, asking not to be named.
“Urban planning is crucial for the development of sustainable cities. The concept of a draft bill is being discussed at the ministry level to bring focus on urban planners. Like there are councils for architects, doctors, lawyers, the concept of a council for urban planners is being considered,” the official said.
“The NITI Aayog had also recommended a bill and formation of a national council for town and country planners,” he added.
In September last year, the government’s federal think tank, NITI Aayog, came out with a report titled “Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India”, which highlighted the shortage of urban planners in the country and recommended the need for building capacity and a regulatory framework for urban planners.
Dr K Rajeswara Rao, special secretary, NITI Aayog, said that the advisory committee, which prepared the report, observed that concerted actions are required to bring in more structure, professionalism, and identity to the urban planning profession.
“This will be important to improve the quality as well as quantity of planning professionals in the long run. It recommended a National Council of Town and Country Planners to be constituted as a statutory body of the government of India. The purpose would be to set standards, benchmarks and code of ethics just like it is done by councils for lawyers, chartered accountants and so on,” Dr Rao said.
The report said that 63% of the 7,933 towns and cities (urban settlements) in India don’t have a master plan, which is considered critical for managing urbanisation challenges. Dr Rao said that cities where large-scale investment is being done are facing major planning-related problems due to the shortage of urban planners in the country.
“Nearly 65% cities don’t have a master plan, and in the rest of the cities that have a master or development plan in place, it is not enforced and implemented properly. This results in urban sprawl,” he said.
The draft proposes to standardise the recruitment rules for staff in town and country planning departments, urban development authorities, and urban local bodies, said a second MoHUA official aware of the development.
The federal Town and Country Planning Organisation, which comes under MoHUA and assists the ministry in formulating policies for urban development, said that states often don’t adhere to the Centre’s advisories to hire qualified urban planners.
Sabyasachi Das, former planning commission in-charge at DDA, “There is so much focus urban development and redevelopment in cities now. There is a need to have a proper planning done for cities for which government institutions should recruit qualified urban planners. There are government department where the posts are lying vacant for years. The government should focus on filling up these posts.”
