In a quandary over the regulations for setting up Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for Chandigarh, the UT Administration has now sought legal assistance.
The Administration has sent the draft of MPC to the UT legal remembrancer seeking opinion on the issue.
With absence of such Committees in the neighboring States, the Administration is finding it difficult to finalize the rules and regulations for setting up MPC for the city.
Though the Administration has prepared a draft of guidelines for the MPC, it remains uncertain over the procedure to be
followed for constitution of this Committee. In 2011, the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD)
had directed the UT Administration to constitute MPC in Chandigarh.
For the constitution of MPC here, the UT Administration has studied the MPC draft framed by the neighboring Punjab Government for ludhiana and other big cities.
The Constitutional 74th Amendment Act provides that in every metropolitan area with a population of 10 lakh or more, a Metropolitan Planning Committee is to be constituted for preparing a draft development plan for the metropolitan area as a whole.
While talking to The Pioneer, UT Joint Secretary Home, MM Sabharwal said, “The draft of MPC has been sent to legal remembrancer and we have sought opinion for setting up this Committee. As such Committees are not being constituted in the neighboring States, we are uncertain about the procedure for its constitution.”
“We are waiting for legal opinion. After receiving legal opinion, we will finalize the members to be included in the Committee and other issues related to it,” he added.
The total area of Chandigarh is 114 sq km. And, as per Census 2011, the population of the city is 1,054,686.
As per the UT’s draft for MPC, an urban area of 79.34 sq km in Chandigarh will be declared as metropolitan area while remaining 34.66 sq km will be considered as rural area.
The metropolitan area have a population of 10,25,682 people while the rural area have a population of 29,004, reads the draft.
The UT’s draft proposed that the metropolitan area of 79.43 sq km would be governed by the MPC.
And, the MPC would prepare a development plan for metropolitan area of Chandigarh and would also act as a coordinating body to execute development works by incorporating plans of UT Administration, Municipal Corporation and other Corporations or organizations.
The draft has also proposed that a District Planning Committee (DPC) should be constituted to govern the development works in the rural area spreading over an area of 34.66 sq km in the union territory of Chandigarh.
The DPC would consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the authorities in the area and will prepare a draft development plan.