What Could A Dedicated Urban Planning Cadre For Our Cities Look Like

While qualified professional urban planners are available in the metro and million-plus cities, a vast majority of Tier II and Tier III cities don't. The April 2023 report of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ high-level committee (HLC) says the ratio of urban planners to the population ranges from one planner for 500,000 to 1,000,000. One per half-a-million to one in a million, to be precise! The recommended ratio is one planner for a range from 30,000 to 150,000 people. One can imagine the steep shortage if one takes the example of a Tier II city like Nellore in Andhra Pradesh or a Tier III city like Etawah or Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Given India's overall urbanisation projections, the HLC estimated a need for over 20,000 urban planners by 2030 and over 30,000 by 2047. In 2021, a NITI Aayog report noted the availability of less than 2,000 urban planners and a significant number of vacancies in several states. It should be stressed that simply expanding the number of urban planners would not fix the problem.

The HLC report's first critical point has been to examine the feasibility of setting up an all-India cadre for urban planning services. This would help build urban planning leadership capacities and institutions across the country.

The fact that Indian cities are a mess is because central or state administrative cadres have been dealing with bijli-sadak-paani required by citizens. The general nature of administrative training as opposed to specific expertise is the moot point here. Experts spoken to in a previous article in this series had baulked at the need for setting up a new all-India service cadre while conceding such an exercise can be fulfilled by merging state and central bureaucracies managing municipal functions.

The other points among the recommendations are strengthening statutory urban planning and design; improving the economic geography of city regions; and leveraging the potential of urban river and water fronts.

After the Constitution (Seventy Fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, the HLC recommendations for urban planning institutional changes assume the most significance. Such a proposal has been discussed in urban planning circles for over a decade. The 1992 Act empowers local self-government on urban planning but proposing councillors and ward committee members exhibit urban planning nous above their political aspirations has left the will of the law on paper only.

Despite the fears of over-bureaucratisation against democratisation, let's chalk out what such a service cadre can look like and what it would even do by possibly integrating existing laws and institutions.

All-India Urban Planning Services’ Cadre: A Possible Framework

1. Enact a town and country planners' bill

This will bring all laws, legislations, acts, policies, and institutions under one jurisdiction and streamline the operation of all urban planning activities, simplifying the functioning of an urban planning service cadre. This would describe a planners' professional functions in India; essentially "who can plan" and "how to".

2. Integration of state civil services

After passing the state civil services, several public officials have been appointed chief and assistant town planners in their native states. They can be seen as prospective experienced candidates for the proposed cadre. They not only have hands-on experience with urban planning, but also have indigenous knowledge of the region and its people. Thus, the proposed cadre will have access to expertise that is not just subject-specific but also context-specific.

3. Re-alignment of currently appointed municipal commissioners

Several professionals from administrative services are currently municipal commissioners of urban development authorities. As they have previously completed the preliminary prerequisites for becoming a civil servant, systematic training and two-way learning through interactive workshops can align them and grow the cadre with individuals with experience.

4. Institutional integration to streamline training and selection

Young graduates from urban planning education institutions should be seen as possible cadre candidates rather than introducing a completely new procedure to select the cadre. This is not to imply they will circumvent laid-down procedure, but rather that they will streamline their recruitment into this service cadre.

5. Indian Town Planning Institute to be made a statutory body

To ensure high quality professionals, the HLC has suggested establishing a National Register and Certification for Urban Planning Practitioners in India (CUPI), which includes documentation and certification. The ITPI already does this but as a non-statutory entity. It also lays out urban planning frameworks and curriculums. Making ITPI a statutory body will allow for a good repository of educational institutions and urban planning specialists, making it easier to connect it to the urban planning services cadre. Consider the Council of Architecture. The Architects Act of 1972 established and mandated the COA. It is responsible for regulating architectural education and practice throughout India, as well as maintaining the architects' registration. By making ITPI a statutory authority under the Town and Country Planners' Act (as proposed), it can shift its role from "fostering" and "promoting" to "regulating."

6. Private+State+Academia advisory board

A cadre advisory board with actors from all three realms of urban practice - private, state, and academia - to re-evaluate and re-adjust urban policy priorities as well as our moral, financial, and development frames.

7. Modernising recruiting and service rules

There is a need to reinvent and innovate how urban planners are hired. More emphasis should be placed on subjects and expertise when recruiting persons for the cadre, and there should be a suitable alignment of the demands of today's cities and the individuals appointed. Along with having the standard procedures of appointments there is also a need to look at other realms wherein the professional capacity of urban planning is pre-existing.

Keeping these broad ideas in mind, the die for a new all-India urban planning services care can be cast. If and when approved, this can fill a critical gap in addressing the way cities are managed.