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Consultancy in Town planning - Prasoon Bansal - 12-08-2016

Consultancy in Town planning 


The rising urban population and rapid expansion of cities and towns has created a need for more and more architects, sociologists, and economists with expertise in town planning. The construction boom and constant urbanisation taking place in the country have thus opened more doors for those trained in urban and regional planning.

Depending upon the organisational set-up for performing consultancy practice, consultant can he

1.                   an individual,
2.                   a proprietorship firm,
3.                   a corporate body,
4.                   a consortium or
5.                   An NGO.

Because of the policy of globalisation, a lot of international consultants are operating in India  . In practice, therefore, each of the five categories of consultants could be domestic or international. Depending upon the project requirements, there could be a collaboration of domestic and foreign consultants working together with clearly specified role and responsibilities. The agreement/ memorandum of understanding should clearly specify the functions, roles and responsibilities of the domestic and foreign consultants, explicitly indicating the firm or the consultant, as the case may be, that will be the overall in charge of the assignment and hence will have the overall responsibility to deliver the output as agreed. It is, however, highlighted here that any collaboration with a foreign consultant/firm would be entered into with previous consent of the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank An individual consultant is a qualified and experienced expert in one or more disciplines related to urban and regional planning and development. He is normally an associate or fellow member of the ITPI. (It is not an essential condition to practice.) Generally, he is a freelance consultant participating individually

A consultant in town planning may be engaged for any of the services such as national planning, regional planning, urban planning, development management, real estate development, advice, arbitration and legal advice, education, research and training. He may also be engaged for any of the following partial services:

1.       Project formulation and appraisal

2.       Planning and/or implementation of government programmes like poverty alleviation programmes covering Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP), Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP), JNNURM, UIDSSMT and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY)

3.       Provision of spatial planning support system such as:

                           i.      Preparation of base maps and other thematic maps using remote sensing data, GIS and aerial photography
                           ii.      Development and maintenance of Urban and Regional Information System (URIS) and Land Information System (LIS)
                           iii.      Development of software and other computer applications using various techniques and models
                           iv.      Computer aided design

4.       Development management covering any or all of the following:

                         i.         Land assembly and management
                         ii.         Financial resource mobilisation and management
                         iii.         Environmental management
                         iv.         Estate management

The types of assignments given to a private sector consultant could be grouped into seven categories. These are briefly discussed as follows:

1. Pre- investment/Preliminary Studies: These studies include investigations which precede decision to go forward with the specific project and are aimed at providing (a) the basic requirements of the project, priorities and policies; (b) identification of constraints and general feasibility of the pro,iect; (e) suggested improvements in policies, operations and institutions necessary for successful implementation of the project and (d) investment priorities.

2. Urban and Regional Planning Services: These services include preparation of various types of urban and regional development plans including all technical, fiscal, legal and other details as per the agreement. These also include plans of different projects and schemes related to residential, commercial, recreational, industrial, public and semi-public areas traffic and transportation and other infrastructure.

3. Project Formulation: Private consultants are also assigned jobs pertaining to identification,   feasibility and formulation of projects.

4. Implementation Services: These services include supervision and project management.

5. Technical and Legal Advisory Services: These services cover a variety of wide-ranging technical and legal advices, related to urban and regional planning and development, given to client, It also includes preparation of consultancy documents such as memorandum of understanding and agreements.

6. Research Studies: These comprise fundamental and applied research in the field of urban and regional planning.

7. Training Services: These cover manpower training related to a specific project or programme, skill upgradation and in-service training and capacity building.

 
1) Constitution of Panchayats and Municipalities:
a)   Village,
b)   Intermediate (may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs) and
c)    District.
a)   Nagar Panchayat for transitional area, that is to say, an area in transition from rural to urban in character.
b)   Municipal Council for a smaller urban area, and
c)    Municipal Corporation for a larger urban area.

2) Constitution of Ward Committees:  Article 243 S provides for constitution of ward committees, consisting of one or more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a population of 3, 00,000 or more.

3) Duration of Municipalities: Article 243 E of 73rd CAA and 243 U of 74th CAA, provides a fixed term of 5 years of a panchayat and municipality respectively,from the date appointed. Elections to constitute a panchayat or municipality are required to be completed before the expiration of the duration of the municipality

4) Powers, authority and responsibilities of Panchayats and Municipalities:

a) The Panchayats and Municipality with such powers and authority those are necessary to enable them to function as institutions of selfgovernment. The law prepared by the state government may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Municipalities, with or without conditions with respect to

i. the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice;
ii. the performance of functions and implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedule;

b) The Committees with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to carry out the responsibilities conferred upon Municipalities them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.

Items listed in Eleventh and Twelfth Schedule

   

5) Finances of Panchayats and Municipalities: As per Article 243 H of 73rd & 243 X of 74th CAA it has been left to the legislature of the State to specify the imposition of taxes.

6) State Finance Commission: Article 243 I of 73rd CAA give provision of State Finance Commission (SFC). Article 243 Y of 74th CAA extends duty/power of SFC to review the financial positions of municipalities apart from Panchayati Raj Institutions and make recommendations to the Governor.

7) Committee for District Planning: Article 243 ZD provides for constitution of District Planning Committee at district level in every state, to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole.

a) A close study of this article provides a reasonable inference that each municipality is expected to prepare a plan for its area and undertake the task of urban planning including town planning, regulation of land uses, construction of buildings and phasing of the programme for economic and social development as envisaged in the Twelfth Schedule.

b) The DPC would provide interaction with the municipal bodies and panchayati Raj institutions, in addition to planning and conflict resolutions.

8) Committee for Metropolitan Planning: Article 243 ZE provides for constitution of a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for planning a metropolitan area having a population of 10 lakh or more, comprising one or more districts and consisting of one or more municipalities or panchayats.

9) Scheduled Areas: In terms of Article 243 M of 73rd&243ZC of 74th CAA, these provisions shall not apply to Scheduled areas and Tribal areas as referred to in Article 244 of the Constitution (i.e Scheduled areas and scheduled tribes in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.) However, Parliament may by law, extend the provisions of Part IXA to these areas subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in that law.