39 per cent capital cities in India have no active master plan: Report

No less than 39 per cent of India’s capital cities do not need an lively grasp plan, in accordance with a survey carried out by Bengaluru-based assume tank Janaagraha. The Annual Survey of India’s Metropolis-System 2023 additionally states that mayors and councillors solely have restricted function in key municipal capabilities.

The survey report, launched on Tuesday by Union Housing and City Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri right here, says 17 per cent of cities have a mayoral tenure of lower than 5 years, including {that a} tenure of lower than 5 years makes the place of the mayor largely “ceremonial and inconsequential”.

As per the report, mayors and councillors in India stay disempowered as a result of extremely restricted devolution of capabilities and powers over funds and functionaries, brief tenures in workplace and a coverage of rotational reservations mandated by 74th Constitutional Modification Act in accordance with which reserved seats are allotted by rotation to totally different wards within the metropolis. “This has resulted in our metropolis governments being virtually decreased to at least one different civic service supply company quite than a metropolis authorities or a neighborhood self-government,” the survey states.

“Sturdy plan preparation is prime in enhancing the standard of infrastructure and providers for residents and avoiding city sprawl. Nonetheless, a minimum of 39 per cent of the capital cities in India do not need lively spatial plans,” it reveals.

The report consists of the examine of 82 municipal legislations, and 44 city and nation planning acts, amongst others. It additionally says that no state in India supplies an efficient system to forestall the approval of initiatives that aren’t in conformity with spatial improvement plans (SDPs). Moreover, there are not any sturdy provisions by legislation to observe ongoing initiatives for potential violations, the survey states.

“A vibrant SDP must be the product of a fastidiously structured course of of debate to stipulate a collective imaginative and prescient for the town. Nonetheless, there’s an absence of formal platforms for citizen participation in planning for our cities,” it states.

After releasing the report, Union minister Puri mentioned the Swachh Bharat Mission-City has led to a pan-India behavioural shift in the direction of cleanliness.

Strong waste processing has gone up from 17 per cent in 2014 to 76% right this moment, he mentioned and expressed confidence of reaching 100 per cent waste processing in coming years.