Metro development plan, Nagpur included
The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India, has suggested that the Metropolitan Area Planning Committee (MAPC) should prepare a draft development plan for metropolitan areas.
Dr M Ramachandran, Secretary of Ministry of Urban Development, in a letter to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, stated that the MAPC should co-ordinate with plans prepared by municipal councils and Panchayats in the metro area including co-ordinated spatial planning of the area.
It may be mentioned here that as per the Constitution 74th Amendment Act, 1992, Maharashtra Government has constituted MAPC for Nagpur, Mumbai and Pune districts. Ramachandran suggested that the MAPC should co-ordinate and sort out common issues involving Panchayats and municipal councils in the metro areas including sharing of water and other physical and natural resources. He suggested allocation of resources made available by the State and Central governments to local level institutions. It should be phasing and prioritising development works involving number of Panchayats or urban areas. The committee would advise and assist local bodies in preparation of development plans and serving as a link to disseminate development objectives, policies and priorities of Central and State governments among various local bodies by formulation of operational guidelines so that the same may be considered while preparing plans of respective local bodies. He suggested that the committee should resolve conflicts and avoid areas of overlapping between different agencies operating in metro areas. The meeting of MAPC may be held at least once in every quarter of the financial year. The committee may invite experts to attend its meeting.
It may be added, in Nagpur, MAPC was constituted last year but not a single meeting of the committee was held during the year. Chief Minister is the chairperson of the committee and he has no time to conduct even first meeting of Nagpur MAPC. Ramachandran stated that as per the Constitution 74th Amendment Act, 1992, there is a mandatory provision for constitution of Metropolitan Planning Committee in all metropolitan areas by State governments. As per the Constitution Amendment Act, metropolitan area means an area having a population of ten lakh or more comprised in one or more districts and consisting of two or more municipalities or Panchayats or other contiguous areas specified and notified by the State Government to be a metropolitan area for this purpose. According to 2001 Census, there are 35 metropolitan cities having a population of ten lakh and above spread over 15 states and Union territories. The Ministry of Urban Development is the nodal ministry to oversee implementation of the Constitution 74th Amendment Act in the states and Union territories. Although 17 years have passed by since the Act was enacted, only West Bengal and Maharashtra have constituted Metropolitan Area Planning Committees, while two states namely Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have enacted enabling legislation to constitute MAPCs. Other States having metropolitan cities are yet to take any action in this regard.
He said, metropolitan areas, having 38 per cent of the urban population, are the engines of economic growth in the country. They are generally composed of several local bodies comprising municipal corporations, municipalities, nagar panchayats and rural areas as well. Development Authorities created in these metropolitan areas are not in a position to bring all stakeholders on a single platform. He said, MAPC for metropolitan areas will play an important role as an inter-governmental, inter-organisational, politically representative forum. Under the JNNURM also, implementation of decentralisation measures as envisaged in the Constitution 74th Amendment Act is one of the mandatory reforms which among others include constitution and setting up of the MAPC in metropolitan areas. It has specified constitution of the MAPC for every metropolitan area consisting of 45 members to prepare draft development plan for the metropolitan area as a whole. Ramachandran suggested that the MAPC should also have representatives of Government of India particularly from Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Surface Transport, Ministry of Telecommunication and others.
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