Serious Violation of the Constitution
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS NOW PLANNING AUTHORITY

Prior to the promulgation of the 73rd  & 74th  constitutional amendments, the constitution was silent on planning.  The political system adopted socio-economic planning based on faulty Soviet practices coordinated by a supra constitutional Planning Commission.  Such centralised planning not linked with environment resources led to alienation of local communities form the planning process, excessive bureaucratic and corruption overheads and fostered all round social, environmental, economic and political degradation.  Facing bankruptcy in 1991,the political system opened the economy  to the global market and is claiming credit for reforms when it is a mere correction of a past blunder. It is however still wedded to the faulty centralised planning as it has become a vested interest of all political parties.

2.   The nation is grateful to Rajiv  Gandhi for initiating the panchayati  raj constitutional amendments for local empowerment.  Article 243 ZD of the Constitution now mandates that there shall be a district planning committee in every district that, based on funds  devolved under Articles 280,243-1 & 243-Y through the processes of the Central & State finance commissions and available local  resources, coordinate the local plans prepared by the panchayats  and municipalities to prepare to draft district plan in spatial form. Such district plans will be coordinated by state planning authorities as state plans and finally by a national planning authority as a national plan, all in spatial form.  Article 243 ZE provides a similar process for metropolitan areas.   Such scientific regional planning as in western democracies will be an ongoing iterative process, replacing the soviet type faulty socio-economic centralised  planning not linked with environmental resources.

3..  This constitutional mandate needs  to be enforced.  Town & Country Planning   Organisation and Planning Commission at the national level will need to be merged as a National Planning Authority.  Likewise, the Town Planning Departments and the Planning  Board at the state level will need to be merged as State  Planning Authorities.  District and Metropolitan Planning Committees need to be instituted in all districts and Metropolitan areas for preparing district and metropolitan  plans.

4.  Such  restructuring as per the constitutional mandate has serious implications not only on nurturing sound planning but also on curbing corrupt practices.  After city and rural spatial plans have been finalized, real estate development will consolidate the land zoned residential, institutional  or commercial and apply for planning permission.  The concerned local  government will, to cover its liability for providing link roads, water supply and sewerage  connection, impose planning permission charges on the developers, thus augmenting its resources for providing the civic infrastructure. Such planning permission is presently being given by DDA and State Development  Authorities in a way that the planning permission charges go in state corruption, while local governments are getting financially crippled!

5.   While granting planning permission to developers, as in western democracies, local governments can impose that two per cent of the cost of the project shall be earmarked  for a work of art or local crafts thus nurturing creative skill.  To monitor conservation of heritage properties and selection of work of art, the law can provide that local governments shall institute the Civic Arts Commission with the civic heads as chairpersons and local professionals nominated by the local elected head with the approval of the local assembly as vice chairpersons for handling day to day work. At present, there is only a Delhi Urban Arts Commmission. Such Delhi-centric attitude and neglect of the rich cultural  heritage of the villages is anti-people, and anti-constitution. q

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