[harshita]

The Town and Country Planning Organization (TCPO), which is an organisation of Central government to deal with the subject of planning (regional, urban and rural) and developmental policies, formulated a Model Town and Country Planning Act in the year 1960 . 

The Model Act provides as follows:

1. Provisions for preparation of comprehensive Master Plan for urban areas of various states. The states may adopt the Model legislation with suitable modifications for this purpose.
   
2. To constitute a board to advise and to coordinate in the matter of planning and plan formulation by the Local Planning Authorities in the State.
   
3. Provisions for implementation and enforcement of the Master Plans and the miscellaneous provisions to achieve planned urban growth of various urban areas in the state.
   
   

The above model was revised in 1985 by the Central Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO)

The revised model regional and town planning and development  law  has largely been the basis for the enactment of comprehensive urban and regional planning legislation in the States and UTs. This model is in the nature of a guideline and is the outcome of several reviews and revisions undertaken on the recommendations of the State Ministers Conference held from time to time. The legality of this model has been confirmed by the Ministry of Law.

With a view to ensuring better overseeing and coordination of planning with plan implementation, the Model Law which dealt with the planning aspect only has been reviewed and revised and now a combined planning and development law has been formulated in consultation with the concerned Central Government Ministries. Under this law, planning and plan implementation have been combined together so that a single agency could undertake both these functions. To do this, the planning and development authority to be constituted under the Law has been equipped with full planning and development powers to discharge this task.

Salient Feature: Town and Country Planning Act

1. The Act provides for the constitutions of a State Town Planning Board for advising the state government regarding planning and development and for determining principles and policies for achieving balanced development of the State as a whole. This Board will have the Minister in charge of town planning as chairman and the Director of Town Planning as member-secretary with other official and non-official members.
   
2. It provides for the state government to declare any area in the State to be a local planning area for the purpose of the Act. Only on such declaration the Act will apply to that area, excluding the military cantonment area.
   
3. Provision is made for the constitution of a planning authority for any local planning area declared under the Act. Special planning authority would be constituted for any local planning area, which may extend even beyond the limits of any local authority. In other cases, the Act provides for the Town Improvement Board, or where there is no such Town Improvement Board the local authority, having jurisdiction over such local planning area to be constituted to function as a planning authority.
   
4. Every planning authority specially constituted will consist of:
   

1. 1. A Chairman.
      
   2.  A town planning officer, to be the member secretary.
      
   3. Representatives of local bodies having jurisdiction over the planning area, the total number of such representatives limited to five.
      
   4. Three other members, appointed by the state government.
      

1. The Act provides for the state government to specify the date with reference to which the present use of any land in the State has to be determined and different dates may be fixed for different areas in the State. Every planning authority is expected to prepare an accurate map showing the present land use in the planning area under its jurisdiction and other particulars. This is one of the special features of the Act. 
   
2. Master plan: Master plan under the Act for any local planning area has to be prepared in two stages.
   

1. 1. Preparation of an outline development plan which for all practical purposes will be an interim master plan. The details are enumerated in the Act.
      
   2. Preparation of a comprehensive development plan for the area. This is a detailed and more exhaustive master plan. As soon as the comprehensive development plan is prepared and approved; the outline development plan prepared earlier would be treated as superseded. Provision is also made for revision of comprehensive development plan at least once in every five years from the date on which the last comprehensive development plan came into force.
      

1. Chapter V of the Act provides for town planning schemes for the purposes of implementing the proposals in the comprehensive development plan. The procedural details, powers and functions of the planning authority and the financial implications are detailed in the Act.
   
2.  Every planning authority is expected to function as an independent body with separate funds of its own.