Centre seeks citizen participation in urban planning

Seeking a paradigm shift in urban development planning, the Centre today asked the states and urban local bodies to identify development needs and priorities through citizen participation in decision making.
This was the thrust of the new 'Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation Guidelines' released today by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu here.
The guidelines were finalised and released after six months of consultations with states and other stakeholders by the Ministry and its Town and Country Planning Organisation.
Naidu invited the attention of the states to the Prime Minister's emphasis on promoting citizen participation in taking forward new urban initiatives like building Smart Cities, New Mission for 500 Cities, Housing for All among others.

"People's participation is central to development and planned development is our goal. There is a haphazard urban development going on in our urban sector in the country. I don't blame any party or individual. You have to collectively address the problem," Naidu said at the workshop.
The Minister also announced that simplified Delhi Building Bye-Laws will soon be notified which will address the obstacles being faced in the context of rapid urbanisation.

"Considerable progress has been made in respect of its simplification and rationalisation in respect of Delhi. It will be notified soon," Naidu said.
The workshop is being held to deliberate on model building bye-laws. Town planners, experts and academicians from the States and Union Territories besides stakeholder organisations will discuss the issue threadbare in the day-long meeting.

"Town planners across the country will discuss the model building by-laws and make suitable recommendations," he said.
The new urban planning guidelines seek to promote local area level planning, investment planning, special purpose planning like in the case of city sanitation and mobility plans.