India’s National Spatial Policy (NSP) framed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is aimed at creating well-planned cities and redeveloping existing ones, using concepts like ‘Kukaku Seiri’ for planned expansion. Taking a leaf out of Japan’s urban planning and governance playbook, the ministry will develop 20-year vision documents for regional to national level city planning framework implementation in a cohesive manner. AS per the ministry, the need for the NSP stems from projections of urban population living in cities - which is likely to grow from 30% to about 52-53% in 20 years, thus requiring a proper policy framework to address the challenge of haphazard growth of our cities.
The NPS will have a three-tier system:
- Creation of a National Spatial Coordination Council comprising representatives of ministries, PMO and Niti Aayog
- Developing a State Spatial Strategy which will have a state-level group
- Developing a regional planning block governed by a regional planning body
A National Urban Development Authority (NUDA) under MoHUA will be constituted to oversee urban projects and coordinate with state governments, ensuring alignment of local needs with national standards.
Focus Areas: Land Use & Transport System
Apart from the emphasis on redeveloping existing cities through comprehensive upgrades of legacy infrastructure (water, sewerage, housing, power and transport systems) is focused on two key areas
Land Use: The policy proposes Japanese concept of ‘Kukaku Seiri’, i.e. reallocation of land. It will consist of utilizing unplanned urbanized areas on the fringe of cities., wherein, land is exchanged among the owners and is consolidated for each owner, whilst some of the land is reserved for public facilities. A landowner may lose small portions of land but the net worth of the land rises as the government develops facilities around it.
Transport: The policy proposes that all states should employ a transit-first and rail-led growth at the core. This means making public transport like mass transit corridors, Metro, RRTS and railway the primary arteries of urbanization while highways are regulated as freight and logistics corridors.
India does not have a single, unified city planning policy for the nation. As urban planning is a state subject, each state has its own policies to guide city developments. It is believed, a central NSP as proposed by the MoHUA will help provide a common framework and support to state and local governments, such as, Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority that provides a model for centralised planning.
What the People Have to Say
A poll among the citizens of various cities brings forth a general consensus for need of a central policy to guide city planning for comprehensive results to address overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and rising inequalities, that have largely remained unaddressed by local bodies. Pollution ranked high in concerns of the citizens and they feel, redevelopment of existing cities in a phased manner and building new cities could alleviate air and water pollution.
People also point out to uneven development with Tier-1 cities being preferred in terms of resource allocation by the centre. Experts add that building new cities as proposed in NSP can boost local economies and create more economic hubs, restricting migration to bigger cities, reducing slum proliferation and ensuring equitable access to services like healthcare, education, sanitation, etc.
The Grey Areas
Land Acquisition: Securing large tracts of land is a conten t ious issue in India due to fragmented land ownership and fair compensation for displacement often faces legal hurdles.
Financial Limitations: Redevelopment or greenfield city plan ning requires massive investment and Public-private partner ships (PPPs) model could clash with public welfare goals.
Management & Coordination: Urban development as pro posed in NSP will require a well-coordinated management at regional, state and centre level or it may lead to inconsisten cies in planning and execution.
Governance Issues: In the absence of proper governance among stakeholders, central schemes with large financial outlays might produce sub-optimal results and leave the cities worse than before.
Key Role of MoHUA
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as the apex ministry in the country responsible for overseeing urban affairs has an important role to play in the success of proposed national spatial policy. It must engage with other ministries to plan adequate budgetary outlays and ways of generating funds as also with state governments to ensure flow of funds to urban local bodies on a performance basis. We have already seen not so good report card of Smart Cities Mission, and deteriorating condition of most Indian cities mainly due to the inaction regarding urgent urban reforms. Hopefully, the proposed national spatial will help create inclusive and sustainable cities. A concerted action and streamlined coordination among all consulting stakeholders is the key to success of NPS.
If implemented correctly, NSP can create more economic hubs, restrict migration, reduce slum proliferation and ensure equitable access for all to public utilities & services.
