No separate body for urban and regional planning: Centre
A high-level committee on urban planning recommended setting up a National Urban Regional Urban Planning Authority headed by the PM
NEW DELHI: There is no proposal to set up a separate national authority for urban and regional planning headed by the Prime Minister on the lines recommended by a high-level committee headed by a retired civil servant, the union ministry of housing and urban affairs told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The ministry’s Town and Country Planning Organisation provides technical assistance to states and union territories for urban and regional planning, union minister of state Tokhan Sahu told the Rajya Sabha in response to an unstarred question by YSRCP MP S Niranjan Reddy.
The suggestion to set up a National Urban Regional Urban Planning Authority headed by the prime minister was floated by a high-level committee on urban planning in its report titled “Pathways to Amrit Kaal: Envisioning and realising a new future for Indian cities”.
The committee also suggested the formation of city-level economic development councils (CEDC). On this issue, Sahu said, it comes under the purview of states and urban local bodies.
In its report, the high-level committee headed by retired IAS officer Keshav Varma said, “The key role of the organisation would be to act as an apex technical advisory body providing guidance to all the ministries, departments, and agencies in the country, at all levels, in matters concerning urban and regional planning and economic development. Well managed cities can become pillars of economic growth for our country which this authority should catalyse.”
The ministry set up the committee in May 2022 to make recommendations on urban sector policies, capacity building, planning, implementation, and governance. The committee’s term expired in July 2024.