The Gazetteers Department

The Maharashtra State has an independent Town Planning and Valuation department under the administrative control of the Urban Development, Public Health and Housing department. This department came into existence in 1914 with the Consulting Surveyor to Government, new designated as Director of Town Planning, as its head.

The department as its name indicates principally deals with the important subjects of town planning and valuation of real properties. Some of the important duties and functions of the department are as under:-

Duties and Functions.

Town Planning.

(1) Preparation of regional plans, development plans and town planning schemes under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 which has come into force in the State with effect from 11th January 1967.

(2) Rendering assistance to the municipal authorities in the preparation of development plans and town planning schemes in the shape of advice, as well as loan of services of the technical assistants for the preparation of development plans, draft town planning schemes, etc

(3) To perform the duties of Town Planning Officers, Arbitrators, when so appointed by Government under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, to carry out surveys, prepare the existing land-use-plans and development plans, to scrutinise development or building permission cases, to tender advice to the Tribunals of Appeal and to draw up final town planning schemes, to work as members of the Regional Planning Boards constituted by Government and to prepare regional plans.

(4) To advise Government on all matters regarding town and country planning including legislation.

(5) To advise and prepare town development, improvement, extension and slum clearance schemes under the Municipal Acts.

(6) To prepare development schemes or layouts of (l) lands belonging to Government, (ii) lands of co-operative housing societies and (iii) lands of private bodies with the sanction of Government.

(7) Preparation of village layouts for extension of old village gaothan and new village gaothan sites.

(8) To advise Government on housing, slum clearance, regional planning and prevention of ribbon development including legislation.

(9) To prepare type designs for the housing of the middle and poorer classes including Harijans.

(10) To scrutinise miscellaneous building permission cases and layouts received from the Collectors and to recommend suitable building regulation for adoption in the areas concerned.

(11) Advising the Nagpur Improvement Trust, Nagpur in the preparation of the improvement schemes under the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act, 1936, to scrutinise the schemes when submitted for sanction, and to advise Government regarding sanction to the schemes.

Miscellaneous.

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

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

(3) To advise Government as regards interpretation, amendment of or addition to the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act. 1966, or rules thereunder.

Valuation

The Director of Town Planning is the chief expert adviser to the Government on the 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 for the purposes of sale or lease.

(2) Valuation of Government properties for the purpose of rating under the Provincial Municipal Corporation Act and to function as the Authorised Valuation Officer for finalisation of the lists of assessment of all the properties in municipal towns submitted by the Chief; Officers under the provisions of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965.

(3) Valuation for miscellaneous purposes such as cantonment leases, probate on stamp duty, etc.

(4) Valuation for purposes of fixing standard rate 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 purposes of fixing standard rate of ground-rent and land values in respect of lands in cantonments.

(6) Scrutiny of awards of compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

(7) Supplying trained technical assistants to do duty 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 Courts when appeals are lodged against the awards of compensation under the Land Acquisition Act.

(9) Undertaking valuation work on behalf of railways and other departments of Central Government and private bodies with the sanction of Government on payment of fees, etc.

Regional Planning.

The statutory powers regarding planning were embodied under the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 which was in force till its replacement by the Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954. The Act of 1954 generally incorporated the provisions of Bombay Town Planning Act, 1915 and in addition made obligatory on every local authority (barring Village Panchayats) to prepare a development plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction.

The Bombay Town Planning Act, 1954 applied to lands included within the municipal limits only, and therefore, there was no provision for exercising proper and effective control over the planning and development of land in peripheral areas outside the municipal areas which were growing in an irregular and haphazard manner. The evil results of such un-controlled growth and development have already become apparent in the vast areas outside Greater Bombay and Poona and other important urban centres. It was considered that the only way to tackle adequately these evil effects arising out of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation would be by resorting to regional planning for areas around the metropolitan centres like Bombay, Poona and Nagpur and by developing counter magnets for the dispersal and relocation of both industries and population within the region.

There was no statutory power under the 1954 Act for the preparation of regional plans which has, therefore, been repealed and replaced by the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. This Act came into force in the State with effect from 11th January, 1967. This Act provided for establishment of regions and constitution of Regional Planning Board for the preparation of Regional Plans, designation of sites for new towns, establishment of development authorities to create new towns, preparation of development plans for municipal areas and town planning schemes for execution of the sanctioned development plans. Government has established the Metropolitan Region at Bombay, Pune and Nagpur and constituted Regional Planning Boards for these three regions.

The scope of the regional plan for an urban region is to formulate a policy for guidance and control of development within the region in such a manner that-

(1) land be used for the best purposes for which it is most suitable e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, etc., having regard to both public and private interests,

(2) adequate means of communication be provided for traffic throughout the region.

(3) building development be concentrated in areas where adequate public utility service can be supplied economically,

(4) ample areas be reserved as open spaces,

(5) Country-side be protected including preservation of landscape, and

(6) historical monuments, etc., be preserved.

Briefly, the object of the regional plan is to regulate development so as to maintain a proper balance between buildings and open space and secure healthy and economic urban growth.

Organisation.

The Department as stated above was started in the year 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) and Deputy Assistant Consulting Surveyor (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 attend to the work of town planning, valuation, etc., very essentially required in and around the towns and cities. There has been tremendous increase in the activities of this department in recent years with the consequential increase in the number of branch offices in the State. The Head office of this department is at Pune with offices at Bombay, Pune, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Thana, Sholapur, Akola and Nanded. The department also relieves officers to work in the awards section of Revenue and Forest department to scrutinise the land acquisition awards in the Bombay Collectorate to deal mainly with valuation work in Bombay and in the rural housing cell of the Rural Development department to prepare layouts of villages included in the schemes of that department. Officers of the department are also called upon to give expert evidence in the courts in land acquisition references and are appointed to function as Arbitrators to finalise draft town planning schemes prepared by the planning authorities and as part-time or full-time Land Acquisition Officers at important places like Bombay, Pune, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Satara, Ahmednagar, etc. Five posts of the Authorised Valuation Officers have been created by Government for fixing rateable values of properties under the provisions of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965. Their head-quarters are at Thana, Jalgaon, Amravati, Aurangabad and Miraj.

Yeotmal district is under the jurisdiction of the present branch office at Amravati which is headed by the Assistant Director of Town Planning, Amravati. The work of town planning and valuation and allied matters arising from the district of Yeotmal is being dealt with by the Amravati Branch Office alongwith similar work emanating from the districts of Amravati and Buldhana.

According to the provisions made in the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, it is obligatory on every planning authority as defined in the Act, to carry out survey, prepare an existing land use map and prepare and publish a development plan for the entire area within its jurisdiction. Since the municipal councils have no technical staff, the Town Planners from this department are appointed by them to function as Town Planning Officers under Section 24 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town. Planning Act, 1966.

There are in all eight municipal councils in Yeotmal district viz., Darwha, Pusad, Yeotmal, Ghatanji, Pandharkawda, Wani, Digras and Umarkhed. Of these, the work of development plans of three towns viz., Digras, Pandharkawda and Wani has already been undertaken. The draft development plan of Pandharkawda has already been published by the municipal council in July 1968 for eliciting objections and suggestions from the public. The draft development plans of Digras and Wani are expected to be published by the respective municipal councils soon. The Pusad municipal council has made the required declaration of intention to prepare the development plan on 8th November, 1966 under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 and the work of preparation of this draft development plan is expected to be undertaken shortly. The town of Yeotmal has been included in the programme for preparation of development plan during the Fourth Five-Year Plan period. The work of preparation of development plans of the remaining municipal councils of Yeotmal district will be taken up subsequently.

Town planning scheme, Pusad No. 1, has been finally sanctioned by Government and has already come into force since April 1960.

Several layouts in respect of Government lands in Yeotmal district were prepared and necessary advice was given to the local authorities as also to the revenue authorities as and when sought for. The Amravati Branch Office has also prepared several layouts for rehabilitation of flood affected villages in Yeotmal district, layout for the Industrial Estate at Yeotmal, of Nazul lands, etc. All references from the Collector, Yeotmal, regarding layouts of Government and private lands, grant of Nazul sites, non-agricultural permissions, etc., were also dealt with by the Amravati Branch Office.

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