Public Participation In Planning In India

Mirroring the complexities of cities and neighborhoods, this volume makes a conscious departure from consensus-oriented public participation to conflict-resolving public participation. In India, planning practice generally involves citizens at different stages of plan-making with a clear purpose of securing a consensus aimed at legitimizing the policy content of a development plan. This book contests and challenges this consensus-oriented view of citizen participation in planning, arguing against the assertion that cities can be represented by a single public interest, for which consensus is sought by planners and policy makers. As such, it replaces consensus-centered rational planning models with Foucauldian and Lacanian models of planning to show that planning is riddled with a variety of spatial conflicts, most of which are resolvable. The book does not downplay differences of class and social and cultural identities of various kinds built on arbitrarily assumed public interest created erroneously by further assuming that the professionally trained planner is unbiased. It moves from theory to practice through case studies, which widens and deepens opportunities for public participation as new arenas beyond the processes of preparation of development plans are highlighted. The book also argues that spaces of public participation in planning are shrinking. For example, city development plans promoted under the erstwhile JNNUM programme and several other neoliberal policy regime initiatives have reduced the quality, as well as the extent of participatory practices in planning. The end result of this is that legally mandated participatory spaces are being used by powerful interests to pursue the neoliberal agenda. The volume is divided into three main parts. The first part deals with the theory and history of public participation and governance in planning in India, and the second presents real-life case studies related to planning at a regional level in order to describe and empirically explore some of the theoretical arguments made in the first. The third section provides analyses of selected case studies at a local level. An introduction and conclusions, along with insights for the future, provide a coherent envelope to the book.

This book critically examines the public participation processes in urban planning and development by evaluating the operations of Planning Advisory Committees (PACs) through two meta-criteria of fairness and effectiveness. Traditional models of public participation in planning have long been criticized for separating planners from the public. This book proposes a novel conceptual model to address the gaps in existing practices in order to encourage greater public involvement in planning decisions and policymaking. It assesses the application of the evaluative framework for PACs as a new approach to public participation evaluation in urban planning. With a case study focused on the PACs in Inner City area of Canberra, Australia, the book offers a conceptual framework for evaluating fairness and effectiveness of the public participation processes that can also be extended to other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Scandinavian countries, the European Union, and some Asian countries such as India. Offering valuable insights on how operational processes of PACs can be re-configured, this book will be a useful guide for students and academics of planning and public policy analysis, as well as the planning professionals in both developed and developing countries.

Participatory planning is very sought after concept in the domain of planning in current practices. Delhi is a very progressive city and the city planners and administrators are very active in adopting and implementing current best practices across the world. There are many practices in Delhi which is seen as a good example of participatory planning and the concerns arises when we want to replicate in other cities and towns then it becomes imperative to look in detail the process and their allied pros and cons so that a more effective model can be adapted and adopted for implementation. For Delhi also we are in the process of preparation of 'Local Area Plan' an initiative of Municipal Corporation of Delhi to realize the provisions of Master Plan for a planned development taking into account the existing ground realities. The thesis cum research project will be of great help in looking at the shortcomings of the participatory planning process and the recommendations can give us an opportunity to strengthen the scope and effectiveness of public participation in planning at local level. The author thinks that his research work will be of some help in devising more efficient mechanism for public participation and demand responsive planning by the local body of the national capital.

Delhi is a large city-state with area of 1483 sq km and a population of 16.7 million where more than two third of its area as urban. Rest of the area is fast urbanizing. For a city like this the planning process is challenging and magnitude of problems is enormous. It should be noted that Municipal Corporation of Delhi initiated projects of preparation of ‘Local Area Plan’ for 36 wards through various planning consultants to address planning issues and problems on identifying the ground realities. Development in Delhi is guided by the Master Plan 2021 and various Zonal Development Plans. The increase in urban population as a whole and increased migration to Delhi has led to a number of planning and development issues as land are a scarce resource in Delhi bounded by other states having their own development controls and guidelines. In order to counter the ill-effects of urban problem diagnosis and rational planning model, the planners and policy makers of Delhi started to engage public in various states of planning and plan implementation in various forms and degrees. The engagement of public in planning has stated long back in 1962 when the first Master Plan for Delhi was prepared. Even after 50 years of planning for people the planners and policy makers thought for evolving planning with people approach in planning and this culminated in Delhi in the form of concept of Local Area Plan. In 2005, pilot project for the preparation of Local Area Plan got initiated and got completed and the result was not satisfactory and again in 2010 pilot project for the preparation of Local Area Plan started and by 2012 it got completed. It should be noted that Delhi is one of the Indian city to have a Master Plan for controlling urban growth and development. The need of the people and demand for the development goes hand in hand and this lead to the participation of the public in the plan making process so as to entertain their grievances and make them partner in the development.

"`Urban Planning' in India is a comprehensive guide for understanding urban planning and making intelligent planning decisions. Past solutions and pitfalls, present methods and issues, and future solutions to planning concepts are explained. A wealth of practical information, such as law, agency structure, budgeting and financing, and implementation, is included. The causes of and solutions to India's current and impending urban challenges such as the housing crisis, traffic congestion, drainage and flood management, are also explored. Public participation is extremely important in creating a beautiful and functional city. The concept of planning, implementation mechanisms, and financing options have changed tremendously in the last thirty years. This book is meant to inform and inspire citizens, legislators, administrators, technocrats, and planners to shape cities for the benefit and enjoyment of all."

Attempts A Critical Review Of District Planning In India With Focus On Administrative Arrangements Their Appropriateness And Effectiveness. Identities Issues Like Popular Participation, Resource Allocations And Mobilizations, Involvement Of Statutory Bodies, Pris And District Development Administration. Has Eight Chapters And Nine Appendices And A Number Of Tables And Figures.

Internationally renowned facilitator and public participation consultant James L. Creighton offers a practical guide to designing and facilitating public participation of the public in environmental and public policy decision making. Written for government officials, public and community leaders, and professional facilitators, The Public Participation Handbook is a toolkit for designing a participation process, selecting techniques to encourage participation, facilitating successful public meetings, working with the media, and evaluating the program. The book is also filled with practical advice, checklists, worksheets, and illustrative examples.

While participatory development has gained significance in urban planning and policy, it has been explored largely from the perspective of its prescriptive implementation. This book breaks new ground in critically examining the intended and unintended effects of the deployment of citizen participation and public consultation in neoliberal urban governance by the Indian state. The book reveals how emerging formats of participation, as mandatory components of infrastructure projects, public–private partnership proposals and national urban governance policy frameworks, have embedded market-oriented reforms, promoted financialisation of cities, refashioned urban citizenship, privileged certain classes in urban governance at the expense of already marginalised ones, and thereby deepened the fragmentation of urban polities. It also shows how such deployments are rooted in the larger political economy of neoliberal reforms and ascendance of global finance, and how resultant exclusions and fractures in the urban society provoke insurgent mobilisations and subversions. Offering a dialogue between scholars, policy-makers and activists, and drawing upon several case studies of urban development projects across sectors and cities, this volume will be useful for planners, policy-makers, academics, development professionals, social workers and activists, as well as those in urban studies, urban policy/planning, political science, sociology and development studies.