Planning legislation: town and country planning acts and the 74th Amendment

In short

Planning legislation is the statutory base that lets the State declare a planning area, set up a planning authority, prepare and sanction a development (master) plan, and then enforce land use through development permission. Land and urban development are State subjects (Entry 5 and 18, State List), so every State has its own Town and Country Planning Act, mostly modelled on the Town and Country Planning Organisation's (TCPO) Model Town and Country Planning Act, 1960 and its 1985 revision. The Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992 inserted Part IXA and the Twelfth Schedule, giving municipalities constitutional status and naming "urban planning including town planning" as a municipal function, with District and Metropolitan Planning Committees to integrate plans. This is a compulsory, high-weight unit in B.Plan planning law papers, in the GATE-AR and ITPI examinations, and in interviews for town planner, planning assistant and urban planning consultant posts with development authorities, State town planning departments, municipal corporations and consultancies.

Explained

Constitutional and legislative basis

• Legislative competence: Entry 5 (local government) and Entry 18 (land, land tenures, land improvement) of the State List, Seventh Schedule — hence State-specific Acts, no single national planning law.
• Concurrent/Union touchpoints: urban land ceiling (repealed in most States), environment (Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and EIA Notification, 2006 as amended), coastal regulation (CRZ Notification, 2019), heritage, and acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR).
• Historic line: Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 (first town planning statute in India) → UP Town Improvement Act, 1919 (improvement trusts) → Madras Town Planning Act, 1920 → post-Independence Model Act, 1960 → State Acts of the 1960s-70s → development-authority Acts.
• Two statutory families in most States: a *town and country planning Act* (plan making and land-use control) and a *municipal Act* (municipal body, taxation, services); a third family is *development authority* Acts (e.g. Delhi Development Act, 1957).
• Advisory/technical, not statutory: URDPFI Guidelines, 2014 (Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation, MoHUA/TCPO; successor to UDPFI 1996), Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016, National Building Code of India, 2016 (SP 7: 2016, with amendments). These bind only when adopted into State rules, bye-laws or development control regulations.

Representative State Acts and authorities

• Common statutory bodies: State Town Planning/Urban Development Department, Director of Town and Country Planning, State/Regional Planning Board, Planning Authority, Special Planning Authority, Appellate authority/Tribunal.

Statutory plan hierarchy and the plan-making process

• Hierarchy (URDPFI 2014 nomenclature): Perspective Plan (20-30 years, policy) → Regional Plan (district/region) → Development Plan (master plan, 20-25 years, statutory land use) → Local Area/Zonal Plan (5-10 years, layout detail) → Special Purpose Plan (TOD, heritage, CDP) → Annual Plan (budget-linked) → projects and schemes.
• Steps under a typical Act (section numbers differ State to State):
• State notifies the planning area and constitutes/designates the planning authority.
• Authority publishes a declaration of intention to prepare or revise the development plan.
• Surveys and base maps: existing land use (ELU) survey, physical, demographic, economic, traffic and infrastructure studies; ELU map sanctioned.
• Draft development plan prepared with proposed land-use zones, reservations for public purposes, road network and Development Control Regulations (DCR/DCPR).
• Publication and objections: notice in the Official Gazette and newspapers; objections and suggestions invited (commonly 30-60 days; MRTP uses 60 days).
• Hearing by a Planning Committee/Board; authority records its decision on each objection.
• Submission to the State Government, which sanctions with or without modifications; substantial modifications are re-published for fresh objections.
• Gazette notification of sanction with an operative date; the plan then has force of law.
• Enforcement: no development without development permission; acquisition or purchase of reserved lands; penal action and demolition for unauthorised development.
• Revision: periodic revision (commonly every 10 years; MRTP requires revision at least once in 20 years), plus variation/modification procedures for individual changes.
• Lapse of reservation: most Acts let a landowner serve a purchase notice if reserved land is not acquired within the statutory period (10 years plus notice under MRTP s.127, as amended), after which the reservation may lapse — a favourite exam and interview point.

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 — provisions

• Enacted 1992, in force 1 June 1993; inserted Part IXA (Articles 243P to 243ZG) and the Twelfth Schedule. Its rural twin, the 73rd Amendment (Part IX, Eleventh Schedule, 29 subjects), came into force 24 April 1993.
• 243P: definitions — metropolitan area (population ≥ 10 lakh), municipal area, committee, district.
• 243Q: three types of municipality — Nagar Panchayat (transitional area), Municipal Council (smaller urban area), Municipal Corporation (larger urban area); an industrial township may be exempted.
• 243R: all seats filled by direct election from wards; State law may provide for nomination of persons having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration, who have no right to vote in meetings of the municipality.
• 243S: Wards Committees mandatory in municipalities with population of 3 lakh or more.
• 243T: reservation of seats for SC/ST in proportion to population; not less than one-third seats for women (many States have raised this to 50% by State law); reservation of chairperson offices as State law provides.
• 243U: fixed five-year term; election before expiry; a dissolved body must be reconstituted within six months; a body reconstituted mid-term serves only the remainder.
• 243V: disqualifications; minimum age 21 years.
• 243W: State legislature may, by law, endow municipalities with powers, authority and responsibilities, including the matters in the Twelfth Schedule — the word "may" is why devolution remains uneven.
• 243X and 243Y: State law authorises municipalities to levy taxes and assigns shares; the State Finance Commission (constituted every five years under 243I, applied by 243Y) recommends devolution to municipalities.
• 243Z, 243ZA: audit of municipal accounts as State law provides; superintendence of municipal elections vested in the State Election Commission.
• 243ZC: Part IXA does not apply to Scheduled and Tribal Areas (Fifth and Sixth Schedule) and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council area.
• 243ZD: District Planning Committee (DPC) in every district to consolidate panchayat and municipal plans into a draft district development plan; not less than four-fifths of members elected by elected members of the panchayats and municipalities of the district, in proportion to the rural-urban population ratio.
• 243ZE: Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) in every metropolitan area to prepare a draft development plan for the metropolitan area; not less than two-thirds of members elected by elected members of municipalities and chairpersons of panchayats in the area, in proportion to population.
• 243ZF: inconsistent State laws continued only for one year from commencement (i.e. to 31 May 1994) unless re-enacted — this is why States passed conformity amendments in 1993-94.
• 243ZG: bars courts from interfering in delimitation of wards and in elections except through an election petition.

Twelfth Schedule — the 18 municipal functions

1. Urban planning including town planning. 2. Regulation of land use and construction of buildings. 3. Planning for economic and social development. 4. Roads and bridges. 5. Water supply (domestic, industrial, commercial). 6. Public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management. 7. Fire services. 8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and ecology. 9. Safeguarding the interests of weaker sections, including the handicapped and mentally retarded. 10. Slum improvement and upgradation. 11. Urban poverty alleviation. 12. Provision of urban amenities such as parks, gardens, playgrounds. 13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects. 14. Burials and burial grounds, cremations and crematoriums. 15. Cattle pounds and prevention of cruelty to animals. 16. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths. 17. Public amenities including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences. 18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries.

Statutory instruments of plan implementation

• Zoning and DCR/DCPR: use zones, FAR/FSI, ground coverage, setbacks, height, parking, premium FSI, inclusionary housing. Maharashtra's Unified DCPR, 2020 applies to most of the State outside Mumbai, MIDC and certain special areas.
• Town Planning Scheme (TPS): the Gujarat/Maharashtra micro-level land-pooling device — original plots (OP) are reconstituted as final plots (FP) after a proportionate deduction (commonly 30-50%) for roads, open space, social infrastructure and saleable plots; a Town Planning Officer prepares draft, preliminary and final schemes; owners pay an increment contribution/betterment charge (half of the increase in land value under the Gujarat Act).
• Land pooling/readjustment: Delhi Land Pooling Policy, 2018; Amaravati (AP) land pooling; Haryana and Punjab licensing route for private colonies.
• Acquisition: RFCTLARR, 2013 — Social Impact Assessment, consent of 70% (PPP) and 80% (private companies) of affected families, compensation = market value × factor up to 2.0 in rural areas (1.0 urban) + value of assets + 100% solatium, plus R&R entitlements.
• Transferable Development Rights (TDR): development potential of land surrendered for a reservation is granted as a certificate usable elsewhere, subject to receiving-zone caps; Accommodation Reservation lets the owner build the amenity and retain FSI.
• Development charge/betterment levy on change of land use or intensification; impact fees; external development charges (EDC) in Haryana-type regimes.
• Unauthorised development: stop-work notice, demolition, compounding/regularisation schemes, penalties; appeal to the State or a tribunal.

Critique — what the 74th Amendment did and did not achieve

• Achievements: regular elections (State Election Commissions), fixed five-year terms, women's and SC/ST reservation, State Finance Commissions, constitutional recognition of urban planning as a municipal function.
• Limitations: Article 243W is enabling, not mandatory; master-plan preparation still rests with State-controlled development authorities and parastatals in most cities, so function 1 and 2 of the Twelfth Schedule are rarely truly devolved; MPCs are constituted in only a few metropolitan areas and are mostly non-functional; DPCs often meet pro forma; no constitutional mandate on own-source revenue or staff; the mayor is usually weak against a State-appointed commissioner; planning Acts of the 1960s-70s were amended only partially for conformity.
• Reform trail: Model Municipal Law, 2003; 13th and 15th Finance Commission conditionalities; mission-linked reforms; proposals for a revised model planning law and for merging plan making with municipal bodies.

Key points

• Entry 5 and 18, State List - land and local government are State subjects; hence one planning Act per State, no central planning law.
• Model Town and Country Planning Act, 1960 - TCPO template (revised 1985) behind most State Acts.
• Planning area - the notified territory within which plan and development control apply.
• Development plan/master plan - the statutory 20-25 year land-use plan; force of law only after Gazette notification of State sanction.
• Development permission - mandatory prior permission for any "development"; its definition includes change of use, subdivision and building operations.
• 74th Amendment, 1992 - Part IXA, Articles 243P-243ZG, Twelfth Schedule; in force 1 June 1993.
• Article 243Q - Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation by area size and character.
• Article 243S - Wards Committees compulsory above 3 lakh population.
• Article 243T - SC/ST reservation in proportion to population; at least one-third seats for women.
• Article 243U - five-year term; reconstitution within six months of dissolution.
• Article 243W - enabling ("may"), which is the single biggest reason devolution is incomplete.
• Article 243ZD - DPC, at least four-fifths elected, rural-urban proportion.
• Article 243ZE - MPC for metropolitan areas (≥10 lakh), at least two-thirds elected.
• Article 243ZF - one-year window to re-enact inconsistent State laws (expired 31 May 1994).
• Article 243ZG - courts barred from interfering in ward delimitation and elections.
• Town Planning Scheme - land pooling and plot reconstitution with 30-50% deduction and betterment contribution.
• TDR and Accommodation Reservation - non-monetary ways to secure reserved land without acquisition.
• URDPFI Guidelines, 2014 - advisory norms for plan hierarchy, land-use and facility standards; statutory only if adopted.

Formulas and examples

1. Development control arithmetic. Plot 2,000 m², permissible FAR 2.5, maximum ground coverage 40%.

• Permissible built-up area = 2,000 × 2.5 = 5,000 m².
• Maximum footprint = 0.40 × 2,000 = 800 m² → minimum floors = 5,000/800 = 6.25 → 7 floors (upper floors smaller because of setbacks).
• At 90 m² per dwelling unit: 5,000/90 = 55.6 → 55 units; at 4.5 persons/unit, population = 247.5 ≈ 248 persons.
• Net density = 248 / 0.2 ha = 1,240 pph — very high, so the DCR would also test parking, open space and infrastructure capacity.

2. Town Planning Scheme reconstitution and betterment. Original plot 10,000 m²; scheme-wide deduction 40%.

• Final plot = 10,000 × (1 − 0.40) = 6,000 m².
• Pre-scheme value at ₹3,000/m² = 10,000 × 3,000 = ₹3.00 crore.
• Post-scheme value at ₹7,000/m² = 6,000 × 7,000 = ₹4.20 crore.
• Increment = 4.20 − 3.00 = ₹1.20 crore; contribution at 50% = ₹60 lakh payable by the owner, net gain to owner ₹60 lakh — the owner keeps less land but more value.

3. District Planning Committee composition (Article 243ZD). District population 24 lakh — rural 18 lakh, urban 6 lakh; State law fixes 30 members.

• Minimum elected members = 0.8 × 30 = 24; remaining 6 may be ex-officio/nominated (collector, MPs/MLAs, experts as State law provides).
• Rural : urban = 18 : 6 = 3 : 1 → rural seats = 24 × 3/4 = 18, urban seats = 24 × 1/4 = 6.

4. Reservation of municipal seats (Article 243T). Municipal council with 48 ward seats; SC population 12.5%, ST 6.25%.

• SC seats = 0.125 × 48 = 6; ST seats = 0.0625 × 48 = 3.
• Women: not less than one-third of 48 = 16 seats, including one-third of the SC seats = 6/3 = 2 and of the ST seats = 3/3 = 1. (Rounding rules and any 50% women's quota come from the State municipal Act.)

5. Projection and land requirement for a draft development plan. Town population 2.00 lakh (2011) and 2.50 lakh (2021).

• Decadal growth r = (2.50 − 2.00)/2.00 = 0.25 (25%).
• Geometric projection to 2041 (n = 2): P = 2.50 × 1.25² = 2.50 × 1.5625 = 3.906 lakh ≈ 3.91 lakh.
• At a net residential density of 150 pph: 3,90,600/150 = 2,604 ha of net residential land.
• If residential is 40% of the developed area (URDPFI indicates roughly 35-45% for medium towns): total developed area ≈ 2,604/0.40 = 6,510 ha, against which existing developed area and holding capacity are compared to size the plan's expansion zone.

Where it is used

• Development authorities and State departments: DDA, MMRDA, BDA, CMDA, HUDA/HSVP and Directorates of Town and Country Planning — drafting master plans, scrutinising layouts, issuing development permission and change-of-land-use orders.
• Municipal corporations: building plan approval under DCPR and Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016, wards committee and DPC/MPC secretariat work, zonal and local area plans.
• Consultancies and PMUs: master plan and GIS-based plan preparation (often under central scheme funding), city development plans, TOD and transit corridor plans, DPRs for infrastructure.
• Real estate and legal due diligence: confirming zoning, FSI, reservations, road widening lines, TDR loading and litigation risk before land purchase — work for planners in developer and banking teams.
• Land acquisition and rehabilitation: SIA and R&R under RFCTLARR, 2013 for highways, metros, industrial corridors and new towns such as Amaravati and Dholera.
• Exams and recruitment: ITPI associateship, UPSC/State town planner and planning assistant posts, GATE-AR planning section, and campus interviews with planning consultancies.

Interview questions

• Q: Why does India have no single national town planning Act? A: Land and local government are State subjects under Entries 18 and 5 of the State List, so each State enacts its own Act; the Centre only issues model laws and guidelines through TCPO/MoHUA.
• Q: When does a draft development plan become legally enforceable? A: Only after the State Government sanctions it and the sanction is notified in the Official Gazette with an operative date — not when the authority approves the draft.
• Q: What did the 74th Amendment actually change? A: It made urban local bodies constitutional through Part IXA — mandatory five-year terms and elections by a State Election Commission, reservation for women and SC/ST, State Finance Commissions, Wards Committees, DPCs and MPCs, and the Twelfth Schedule list of functions.
• Q: Why is urban planning still not done by municipalities despite the Twelfth Schedule? A: Article 243W only says the State legislature "may" endow municipalities with those functions; most States kept plan making with development authorities and parastatals, so entry 1 was never devolved.
• Q: Difference between a DPC and an MPC? A: A DPC exists in every district and consolidates panchayat and municipal plans with at least four-fifths elected members; an MPC exists only in metropolitan areas of 10 lakh or more, prepares the metropolitan development plan, and has at least two-thirds elected members.
• Q: What is a purchase notice and why does it matter? A: If land reserved in a development plan is not acquired within the statutory period, the owner can serve notice (MRTP s.127 type provision) and the reservation may lapse, restoring normal development rights — a major cause of plan erosion.
• Q: How does a Town Planning Scheme assemble land without acquisition? A: Owners' original plots are pooled and reconstituted into smaller final plots; the deducted 30-50% provides roads, open space and saleable plots, and owners pay a share of the value increment instead of being compensated.
• Q: What is TDR and when would you prefer it to acquisition? A: A certificate of development potential given for land surrendered for a public purpose, usable in a designated receiving zone; it is preferred when the authority lacks cash, but needs receiving-zone infrastructure capacity and caps to avoid congestion.
• Q: Are URDPFI Guidelines legally binding? A: No — they are advisory norms; they bind only to the extent a State adopts them into its rules, DCRs or bye-laws.
• Q: What is the significance of Article 243ZF? A: Existing State laws inconsistent with Part IXA could continue only for one year from 1 June 1993, which forced States to pass conformity amendments to their municipal and planning Acts by 31 May 1994.
• Q: What is the minimum compensation structure under RFCTLARR, 2013? A: Market value multiplied by a factor up to 2.0 in rural areas (1.0 urban), plus the value of assets attached to the land, plus 100% solatium, plus rehabilitation and resettlement entitlements.
• Q: Which statutory body hears objections to a draft development plan? A: The planning authority or a planning committee/board constituted under the State Act gives a hearing and records its decision; the State Government then sanctions, and substantial modifications are re-published for fresh objections.

Common mistakes

• Treating the 74th Amendment as having *transferred* planning powers to municipalities — Article 243W is enabling, and the Twelfth Schedule is a list, not a command.
• Mixing up the two Amendments: 73rd is Part IX, Eleventh Schedule, 29 subjects, panchayats; 74th is Part IXA, Twelfth Schedule, 18 functions, municipalities.
• Quoting article numbers loosely — 243ZD is the DPC and 243ZE the MPC, not the reverse; 243S is Wards Committees, 243T is reservation.
• Writing that a master plan is enforceable from the date the authority publishes the draft, ignoring State sanction and Gazette notification.
• Quoting one State's section numbers and timelines (MRTP's 60 days, 20-year revision) as if they were national — always say "typically, and State Acts vary".
• Confusing FAR with ground coverage, or computing density on gross area when the norm is net residential density.
• Calling URDPFI 2014, the Model Act 1960 or Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 "Acts" — they are guidelines and model drafts, not law in force.

Related topics

Local governance · Municipal finance: property tax, grants and municipal bonds · Urban missions in India: AMRUT, PMAY-Urban and Swachh Bharat · Infrastructure financing and smart cities · Real estate development and RERA · Land use planning and development control regulations