The Gazetteers Department

The Maharashtra State has an independent Town Planning and Valuation department under the administrative control of the Urban Development and Public Health department. The department principally deals with two important subjects of ' Town Planning' and ' Valuation of Real property". The duties and functions of this department are as under:-

Town Planning.

(1) Educating the municipalities regarding the advantages of town planning and preparation of development plans and town planning schemes under the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1931.

(2) Advising the municipalities in the selection of suitable areas for preparation of town planning schemes.

(3) Giving the required assistance to the municipalities in the preparation of development plans and town planning schemes in the shape of advice as well as loan of services of technical assistants for the preparation of development plans, draft town planning schemes, etc.

(4) Performing the duties of the Town Planning Officers when so appointed by Government to scrutinise building permission cases tendering advice to the Board of Appeal and drawing up the final schemes.

(5) Issuing certificates of Tenure and Title to the owners of lands included in the town planning schemes.

(6) Advising Government on all matters regarding town and country planning including legislation.

(7) Advising and preparing town development, improvement, extension and slum clearance schemes under the Municipal Act.

(8) Preparing development schemes or layouts of land−

(i) belonging to Government, and

(ii) belonging to co-operative housing societies and private bodies with the sanction of Government.

(9) Tendering advice to officers concerned in respect of village planning and preparation of layouts for model villages, etc.

(10) Advising Government on housing, slum clearance, regional planning and prevention of ribbon development including legislation.

(11) Preparing type designs for the housing of the middle and poorer classes including Harijans.

(12) Scrutinising miscellaneous building permission cases and layouts received from the Collectors and to recommend suitable building regulations for adoption in the areas concerned.

Valuation

The Director of Town Planning, is the chief expert adviser of Government on this subject and his duties under this heading include:−

(1) valuation of agricultural and non-agricultural lands and properties in towns and villages belonging to Government and intended for the purpose of sale or lease;

(2) valuation of Government properties for purposes of rating under the Municipal Acts;

(3) valuation for miscellaneous purposes such as cantonment leases, probate or stamp duty, etc.;

(4) valuation for the purposes of fixing standard rates of non-agricultural assessment and prescribing zones of values in all villages and rising localities in the vicinity of important and growing towns;

(5) valuation for the purposes of fixing standard table of ground rents and land values in respect of lands in cantonments;

(6) scrutiny of awards of compensation (if and when received from Government);

(7) supplying trained technical assistants to act as Special Land Acquisition Officers in important towns where the land acquisition work is of a very important and responsible nature;

(8) giving expert evidence when called upon to do so in the District Courts and High Court when appeals are lodged against awards of compensation under the Land Acquisition Act; and

(9) undertaking valuation work on behalf of Railways and other departments of Central Government and private bodies with the sanction of State Government on payment of fees etc.

Miscellaneous.

(1) To advise various heads of departments of Government in the selection of sites required for public purpose.

(2) To see that all town planning schemes or layouts schemes sanctioned by Government are properly executed within a reasonable period or periods stipulated in the schemes.

(3) To advise Government as regards interpretation, amendment or addition to the Bombay Town Planning Act, or rules thereunder.

The department was started in 1914 with the Consulting Surveyor to Government (now designated as Director of Town Planning) as its head who was later on assisted by one Assistant Consulting Surveyor to Government (now designated as Deputy Director of Town Planning), one Deputy Assistant Consulting Surveyor to Government (now designated as Assistant Director of Town Planning), and two Senior Assistants (now designated as Town Planners) with the requisite staff. As the activities of this department increased, these Assistants had to be posted at prominent places in the State to meet the prime requisites of town and city planning. There has been tremendous increase in the activities of this department in recent years. Naturally there has been a consequential increase in the number of branch offices in the State. The head office of this department is at Poona with branch offices in Bombay, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kalyan, Sholapur and Satara. Some of the officers have been appointed to function as the Land Acquisition Officers and there are thus three full-time Special Land Acquisition Officers in Poona and one full-time Land Acquisition Officer in Bombay in addition to two part-time Land Acquisition Officers in Bombay and Poona.

The statutory powers regarding planning were embodied under the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 which was in force so far in the State. This Act has been replaced by the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954. The new Act generally incorporates the provisions of the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 and in addition makes obligatory on every local authority (barring village panchayats) to prepare a development plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction. The development plan aims at the improvement of existing congested gaothan portion of the town and contains proposals in respect of the outlying open areas so as to guide the development on planned basis. The proposals of the development plan can be implemented by the preparation of statutory town planning schemes. In preparing town planning schemes, the planner can ignore to a great extent the existing plot boundaries. In designing this lay-out the existing holdings can be reconstituted and made subservient to the plan, and building plots of good shape and frontage can be allotted to the owners of lands ill-shaped for building purposes and without access. The cost of a scheme can be recovered from the owners benefited to the extent of 50 per cent, of the increase in the value of the land estimated to accrue by the carrying out of the works contemplated in the scheme. When a draft town planning scheme prepared by a local authority in consultation with the owners is sanctioned, a Town Planning Officer is appointed. His duties are to hear each owner individually, consider his objections or suggestions and make suitable adjustments or amendments in the draft scheme proposals, if found necessary.

Most of the local authorities have no technical staff of their own to prepare the development plans and it has been decided that this department should prepare the development plans on behalf of local authorities under the provisions of the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954. Accordingly, a scheme for the preparation of development plans has been provided in the Five Year Plans and the additional staff has been sanctioned for this purpose.

There is no separate branch office of the Town Planning and Valuation Department in this district. Before creation of the Jalgaon branch office, jurisdiction of which extends over the three districts of Nasik, Dhulia and Jalgaon from October 1962, all work relating to the subjects of Town Planning and Valuation arising out of this district was being dealt with by the Bombay branch office.

Master plans, development schemes and town extension schemes for 4 towns, viz. Dhulia, Nandurbar, Shahada and Shirpur were prepared by the department before the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954, became effective. According to this Act, it has become obligatory for every local authority as defined in the Act (i.e. a municipality or a corporation) to prepare a development plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction. There are six municipalities in Dhulia district viz., Dhulia, Nandurbar (both borough municipalities) and Dondaicha-Varwade, Taloda, Shahada and Shirpur (district municipalities). Out of these six municipal towns, development plans in respect of Dhulia and Taloda were prepared and published as per the procedure laid down and they are at present with State Government for sanction. Development plans for Dondaicha-Varwade and Shahada municipal area as prepared by the department have been published by the respective local authorities for inviting suggestions and objections from the public and those plans are resting with the concerned municipalities for submission of final plans to Government for sanction. Work in respect of development plan of Nandurbar is in progress. Shirpur town was included in the Third Five-Year Plan Scheme UD2 for preparation of development plan.

Town Planning Scheme Dhulia No. I prepared and published under the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 and continued as per section 9O of the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954 was finalised by the arbitrator. The scheme has since been finally sanctioned by State Government and brought into operation from 1st November 1964.

Several layouts in respect of Government lands covering an area of about 125 acres were prepared and necessary advice was extended to the concerned local authorities or the revenue authorities in respect of a number of layouts received from them. The acreage of lands covered by these layouts approximated to 150.

The officers of this department were from time to time appointed under section 74(2) of the Bombay Municipal Boroughs Act, 1925 for fixing rateable values in respect of Government buildings situated within the borough municipal limits of Dhulia and Nandurbar. During the entire period under review this work was undertaken and completed.

Necessary advice was extended whenever required in respect of valuation of lands and buildings either for purchase or for sale by State Government. Fourteen such cases were dealt with and the total valuation involved was to the tune of Rs. 30 lakhs.

Draft awards framed under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 by various Land Acquisition Officers were being referred to this department for expert opinion on matters relating to Valuation and 13 such cases arising out of this district were dealt with by this department during post-Independence period.

In addition to the above a number of building permission and N. A. permission cases, cases for grant of Government land, cases of approval of layouts arising out of various development plans and town planning schemes or otherwise, etc. were dealt with by offering remarks on references received from various local authorities and revenue authorities.

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