Urban–Rural Dichotomy in Planning: Review of Legal Framework in Four States of India
| Author | Rutool Sharma,Anurima Mukherjee Basu |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00195561211001610 |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Urban–Rural
Dichotomy in Planning:
Review of Legal
Framework in Four
States of India
Anurima Mukherjee Basu1 and
Rutool Sharma2
Abstract
Current urbanisation trends in India show a quantum jump in number of ‘census
towns’, which are not statutorily declared as urban areas, but have acquired all
characteristics of urban settlements. Sizeable number of such census towns are
not located near any Class 1 city. Lack of proper and timely planning has led
to unplanned growth of these settlements. This article is based on a review of
planning legislations, institutional framework and planning process of four states
in India. The present article analyses the scope and limitations of the planning
process adopted in the rapidly urbanising rural areas of these states. The find-
ings reveal that states are still following a conventional approach to planning that
treats ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ as separate categories and highlights the need for adopt-
ing an integrated territorial approach to planning of settlements.
Keywords
Planning legislations, spatial planning, governance, urban–rural
Introduction
Recent discussions on growth trajectory of India are dominated by a narrative of
increasing urbanisation accounting for 31 per cent of population in 2011. For the
first time in decades, the absolute increase in urban population has been more than
that of the rural population during 2001–2011. However, urban population is
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
67(1) 40–53, 2021
© 2021 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561211001610
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1 Independent Researcher, Ahmedabad, India.
2 Assistant Professor, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.
Corresponding author:
Anurima Mukherjee Basu, Independent Researcher, A/15 Simandhar Status, Gota, S.G Highway,
Ahmedabad 382481, India.
E-mail: anurima.mb@gmail.com
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