NITI Aayog Launches Report on Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India

What is the News?

NITI Aayog has launched a report titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’.

What are the Key Findings of the Report?

India is home to 11% of the total global urban population. By 2027, India will surpass China as the most populous country in the world. However, unplanned urbanisation will exert great strain on our cities. Hence, there is an urgent need for planning and management of our cities.

Recommendations of the report on Urban Planning

Healthy Cities Programme: Every city must aspire to become a ‘Healthy City for All’ by 2030. For this purpose, the report suggests a central sector scheme titled “500 Healthy Cities Programme” for a period of five years, where priority cities will be selected jointly by the states and local bodies 

Ramping Up of Human Resources: To combat the shortage of urban planners in the public sector, the report recommends that states/UTs may need to expedite the filling up of vacant positions of town planners and additionally sanction new posts as lateral entry positions.

Re-engineering of Urban Governance: The report recommends the constitution of a high-powered committee to re-engineer the present urban-planning governance structure.

The report also suggests the government to revise the Town and Country Planning Acts.

Citizens Participation: The report recommends a ‘Citizen Outreach Campaign’ for enabling citizens participation in urban planning.

Enhancing the Role of the Private Sector: The report recommends strengthening the role of the private sector to improve the overall planning capacity in the country. 

Recommendations of the report on Urban Planning Education

Postgraduate Programmes in Urban Planning: The Central universities and technical institutions in all the other States/UTs are encouraged to offer postgraduate degree programmes (M. Tech Planning) to cater to the requirement of planners in the country in a phased manner.

Faculty Shortage: Faculty shortage in educational institutions conducting degree and PhD programmes in planning needs to be resolved in a time-bound manner by 2022.

Other Recommendations of the report

National Council of Town and Country Planners: The report recommends the constitution of a ‘National Council of Town and Country Planners’ as a statutory body of the Government of India. 

Also, a ‘National Digital Platform of Town and Country Planners’ is suggested to be created within the National Urban Innovation Stack of MoHUA. This portal will enable the self-registration of all planners and evolve as a marketplace for potential employers and urban planners.

Source:  This post is based on the article “NITI Aayog Launches Report on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India” published in PIB on 16th September 2021.