Planning Framework: Urbanisation, Charters, the Constitution, Programmes and the Hierarchy of Plans

Practice questions (20)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

1. Which set of conditions defines a census town in the Census of India?

   1. Population of at least 10,000, at least 50 per cent of all workers in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 1,000 persons per km²
   2. Population of at least 5,000, at least 75 per cent of male main workers in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 400 persons per km²
   3. Population of at least 20,000, with a notified municipal board, and a density of at least 400 persons per km²
   4. Population of at least 5,000, at least 50 per cent of male main workers in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 1,000 persons per km²
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   Answer: B — Population of at least 5,000, at least 75 per cent of male main workers in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 400 persons per km²

   The three Census tests are a population of at least 5,000, at least 75 per cent of male main workers in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 400 persons per km². A place with a municipality is a statutory town whatever its size, so a municipal board is not a census-town test; and the variants with 50 per cent and 1,000 per km² mix in thresholds the Census does not use.

2. The functional city of the Athens Charter (1933) was organised around which four functions?

   1. Dwelling, work, recreation and circulation
   2. Dwelling, work, recreation and conservation
   3. Housing, industry, commerce and administration
   4. Shelter, livelihood, mobility and heritage
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   Answer: A — Dwelling, work, recreation and circulation

   The Athens Charter of CIAM named dwelling, work, recreation (leisure) and circulation as the four functions of the city and asked that they be kept apart by zoning. The conservation variant is tempting because heritage features in later charters, but it is not one of the four.

3. Which pairing of an international milestone with its main idea is correct?

   1. Habitat I (Vancouver, 1976): adoption of the New Urban Agenda for sustainable urban development, as the first global agenda on human settlements
   2. Paris Agreement (2015): a framework to reduce disaster risk through risk-informed land-use planning
   3. Charter of Machu Picchu (1977): a critique of the Athens Charter’s rigid separation of functions, asking for integrated, people-centred planning
   4. Habitat III (Quito, 2016): the Habitat Agenda of adequate shelter for all, the first global agenda on settlements
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   Answer: C — Charter of Machu Picchu (1977): a critique of the Athens Charter’s rigid separation of functions, asking for integrated, people-centred planning

   Machu Picchu (1977) criticised Athens for ignoring people, culture and context. The New Urban Agenda came from Habitat III in Quito in 2016, not from Habitat I; the Habitat Agenda of adequate shelter for all came from Habitat II at Istanbul in 1996; and disaster risk reduction is the subject of the Sendai Framework, whereas the Paris Agreement is about climate. The Habitat III pairing is the tempting one because it mixes a real agenda with the wrong conference.

4. Which of the following can raise the recorded urban population of a district between two censuses even if no one moves from a village to a town?

   1. Natural increase among existing urban residents
   2. Return of urban residents to their home villages
   3. Reclassification of a large village as a census town
   4. Extension of a municipal boundary to take in adjoining villages
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   Answer: A — Natural increase among existing urban residents; C — Reclassification of a large village as a census town; D — Extension of a municipal boundary to take in adjoining villages

   Births over deaths in towns, reclassification of a village as a census town and a boundary extension all enlarge the urban count with no rural-to-urban movement. Return migration to villages does the opposite, lowering the urban population; it is the one item that does not raise it.

5. Which of the following statements about the New Urban Agenda and related global mandates are correct?

   1. The Sendai Framework is the global compact on affordable housing finance
   2. The New Urban Agenda was adopted at Habitat III in Quito in 2016
   3. SDG 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
   4. The Paris Agreement seeks to hold the rise in global temperature well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels
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   Answer: B — The New Urban Agenda was adopted at Habitat III in Quito in 2016; C — SDG 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; D — The Paris Agreement seeks to hold the rise in global temperature well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels

   The New Urban Agenda (Quito, 2016), SDG 11 and the Paris Agreement temperature goal are stated correctly. The Sendai Framework (2015–2030) is about disaster risk reduction, not housing finance.

6. In 2001 a district had 4 lakh urban and 16 lakh rural residents; in 2011 it had 6 lakh urban and 18 lakh rural residents. The rise in its level of urbanisation, in percentage points, is ____.

   Numerical answer — type the value.

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   Answer: 5

   Level in 2001 = 4/(4 + 16) = 20 per cent; level in 2011 = 6/(6 + 18) = 25 per cent; the rise is 5 percentage points. The urban population grew by 50 per cent, but that is urban growth, not the change in the level of urbanisation.

7. A region’s total population grew from 25 lakh to 29 lakh between two censuses, while its urban population grew from 5 lakh to 7 lakh. Its urban–rural growth differential (urban growth rate minus rural growth rate), in percentage points, is ____.

   Numerical answer — type the value.

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   Answer: 30

   Rural population = total − urban: 25 − 5 = 20 lakh, then 29 − 7 = 22 lakh. Urban growth = 2/5 = 40 per cent; rural growth = 2/20 = 10 per cent; URGD = 40 − 10 = 30 points. Using the total growth of 16 per cent in place of rural growth would give 24 instead.

8. A town had a population of 1,75,000 in 2011 after a decadal growth of 40 per cent over 2001. Its population in 2001 was ____.

   Numerical answer — type the value.

   Show answer

   Answer: 125000

   P₂ = P₁(1 + g), so P₁ = 175000/1.4 = 125000. Subtracting 40 per cent of 175000 would give 105000, which is wrong because the growth was a percentage of the 2001 population, not of the 2011 one.

9. Which statement best describes where the power to legislate on town planning lies under the Seventh Schedule?

   1. Town planning is an entry of the Union List, which Parliament has delegated to the States through the 74th Amendment, so the Union keeps the final word on every plan
   2. Town planning is an entry of the Concurrent List, so a central planning Act would override every State planning law on the subject
   3. Town planning is an exclusive State List entry, so the Union can have no role in urban planning, not even through funded schemes
   4. There is no separate entry; States legislate through local government, land and public health, and the Union acts through Concurrent subjects, policy and funds
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   Answer: D — There is no separate entry; States legislate through local government, land and public health, and the Union acts through Concurrent subjects, policy and funds

   The Seventh Schedule has no entry titled town planning. State power over local government (Entry 5), public health and sanitation (Entry 6) and land (Entry 18) carries it, while Concurrent entries such as economic and social planning and acquisition of property, together with funded missions, give the Union an indirect role. The 74th Amendment moved no Union entry to the States, and a Concurrent entry for planning would let Parliament override State Acts, which is not the position; a total bar on the Union is wrong because of the Concurrent subjects and the spending power.

10. The Twelfth Schedule of the Constitution, linked to Article 243W, lists how many matters for municipalities, and which matter opens the list?

    1. 29 matters; urban planning including town planning
    2. 12 matters; water supply
    3. 18 matters; urban planning including town planning
    4. 18 matters; roads and bridges
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    Answer: C — 18 matters; urban planning including town planning

    The Twelfth Schedule has 18 matters and opens with urban planning including town planning, followed by regulation of land-use and construction of buildings. The figure 29 belongs to the Eleventh Schedule for panchayats, which opens with agriculture; pairing 29 with urban planning mixes the two schedules.

11. Which statement about the District Planning Committee (Article 243ZD) and the Metropolitan Planning Committee (Article 243ZE) is correct?

    1. At least two-thirds of a District Planning Committee and at least four-fifths of a Metropolitan Planning Committee are elected from the elected members of the local bodies concerned
    2. At least four-fifths of a District Planning Committee and at least two-thirds of a Metropolitan Planning Committee are elected from the elected members of the local bodies concerned
    3. Both committees are wholly nominated by the Governor from officials of the Urban Development Department
    4. Both committees consist only of Members of Parliament and State legislators representing the area
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    Answer: B — At least four-fifths of a District Planning Committee and at least two-thirds of a Metropolitan Planning Committee are elected from the elected members of the local bodies concerned

    The Constitution requires not less than four-fifths of a DPC and not less than two-thirds of an MPC to be elected by and from the elected members of the municipalities and panchayats concerned. The version with the fractions swapped is the usual slip; the committees are built on elected local representatives, not on nominated officials or legislators alone.

12. Which of the following are provisions of Part IXA of the Constitution, inserted by the 74th Amendment?

    1. Wards Committees in municipalities with a population of three lakh or more
    2. Automatic transfer of all 18 Twelfth Schedule functions to every municipality
    3. A State Election Commission to superintend and conduct municipal elections
    4. A term of five years for a municipality, with fresh elections within six months of dissolution
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    Answer: A — Wards Committees in municipalities with a population of three lakh or more; C — A State Election Commission to superintend and conduct municipal elections; D — A term of five years for a municipality, with fresh elections within six months of dissolution

    Wards Committees (Article 243S), the State Election Commission (243ZA) and the five-year term with elections within six months of dissolution (243U) are all in Part IXA. Article 243W only permits a State to endow municipalities with Twelfth Schedule functions by law; nothing is transferred automatically.

13. Which description matches the design of the Smart Cities Mission?

    1. Area-based development (retrofitting, redevelopment or greenfield) plus pan-city solutions, in cities chosen by competition and run through an SPV
    2. City-wide coverage of water supply, sewerage and storm drains in about 500 towns, planned through State Annual Action Plans and service-level benchmarks
    3. Grants to cities that sign a memorandum committing them to reforms such as repeal of the urban land ceiling law and accrual-based accounting
    4. Credit-linked subsidies, in-situ slum redevelopment and beneficiary-led construction to provide housing for all
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    Answer: A — Area-based development (retrofitting, redevelopment or greenfield) plus pan-city solutions, in cities chosen by competition and run through an SPV

    Smart Cities Mission combines area-based development (retrofitting, redevelopment, greenfield) with pan-city smart solutions, selects about 100 cities by competition and has each implement through an SPV. The city-wide basic-services description is AMRUT, the reform-linked memorandum is JNNURM, and the subsidy and slum-redevelopment description is PMAY-U; the JNNURM description is the tempting one because both missions involve reforms.

14. A State finds that most of its towns above one lakh population lack piped water, sewerage and storm drains. It wants every household in all of them covered, not a showcase district in a few cities. Which programme logic fits best?

    1. Smart Cities-type area-based development, because its pan-city smart solutions extend pipes and drains to every household in the city automatically
    2. HRIDAY-type heritage-city development, because historic cores always have the poorest basic services and the oldest networks
    3. PMAY-U-type credit-linked subsidy, because piped services are financed through each household’s own home loan
    4. AMRUT-type city-wide basic services through State Annual Action Plans and service-level benchmarks, because the need is network coverage
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    Answer: D — AMRUT-type city-wide basic services through State Annual Action Plans and service-level benchmarks, because the need is network coverage

    The need is trunk and distribution networks across many towns, which is what a city-wide basic-services mission such as AMRUT is designed to fund, with State action plans and service-level benchmarks. Smart Cities concentrates resources on a selected area of a few cities and its pan-city solutions are mostly information systems layered on existing networks, so it does not provide universal pipes and drains, however modern it sounds.

15. Which of the following were verticals of PMAY-U (Housing for All, 2015)?

    1. In-situ slum redevelopment using land as a resource
    2. Compulsory acquisition of all vacant urban land
    3. Free allotment of serviced land to every urban household
    4. Beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement
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    Answer: A — In-situ slum redevelopment using land as a resource; D — Beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement

    The four verticals were in-situ slum redevelopment, a credit-linked subsidy, affordable housing in partnership and beneficiary-led construction or enhancement. Compulsory acquisition of vacant land resembles the old land-ceiling approach, and free serviced plots for every household was never a vertical.

16. A city’s perspective plan, development plan and annual plan are compared. Which statement is correct?

    1. The perspective plan is the statutory land-use plan, the development plan is a non-statutory vision, and the annual plan fixes plot boundaries and building lines
    2. The perspective plan is long-range and usually non-statutory, the development plan carries legal force, and the annual plan turns projects into a one-year budget
    3. The development plan is non-statutory, the perspective plan sets the zoning regulations, and the annual plan is a regional plan for the district
    4. All three are statutory land-use plans that differ only in the scale of the zoning map
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    Answer: B — The perspective plan is long-range and usually non-statutory, the development plan carries legal force, and the annual plan turns projects into a one-year budget

    The perspective plan is a long-horizon vision and strategy, normally a policy guide; the development plan, sanctioned under the State Act, is the document with legal force; and the annual plan is the short-range programme and budget, not a land-use map. Reversing the status of the first two is the usual error, and calling all three statutory land-use plans ignores that only the development plan and its zonal and layout detail are spatial and binding.

17. A neighbourhood of 80 ha has a population of 16,000, and half of its area is under residential plots, the rest being roads, open space and facilities. Its gross density and net residential density, in persons per hectare, are respectively:

    1. 200 and 400
    2. 400 and 200
    3. 200 and 100
    4. 160 and 320
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    Answer: A — 200 and 400

    Gross density = 16,000/80 = 200 persons/ha. Residential area = 40 ha, so net residential density = 16,000/40 = 400 persons/ha. The reversed pair is tempting but impossible, because the net density is always at least the gross density.

18. Which of the following are true of a statutory development plan under a State Town and Country Planning Act?

    1. It zones land use and carries development control regulations
    2. Its draft is published and objections are heard before the State Government sanctions it
    3. It binds the planning authorities of neighbouring States
    4. It can be reviewed and revised after sanction as the Act provides
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    Answer: A — It zones land use and carries development control regulations; B — Its draft is published and objections are heard before the State Government sanctions it; D — It can be reviewed and revised after sanction as the Act provides

    A development plan zones land, carries development control rules, is sanctioned after notice, objections and hearing, and is reviewed periodically. It is State law and cannot bind another State’s authorities, since planning is a State subject.

19. A planning area of 3,000 ha has 20 per cent of its land non-developable. The norm for residential use is 45 per cent of the developable area, and 10 per cent of the residential land is to be reserved for EWS housing. The residential land available for non-EWS housing, in ha, is ____.

    Numerical answer — type the value.

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    Answer: 972

    Developable area = 3000 × 0.8 = 2400 ha; residential = 2400 × 0.45 = 1080 ha; EWS reserve = 108 ha; non-EWS residential = 1080 − 108 = 972 ha. Applying 45 per cent to the whole 3000 ha would wrongly give 1350 ha before the reserve.

20. A neighbourhood of 60 ha is planned at a gross density of 300 persons/ha. The norm is one primary school per 4,500 people, each needing 0.4 ha, and one dispensary per 6,000 people, each needing 0.1 ha. The total land for primary schools and dispensaries, in ha, is ____.

    Numerical answer — type the value.

    Show answer

    Answer: 1.9

    Population = 60 × 300 = 18,000. Schools = 18,000/4,500 = 4, needing 4 × 0.4 = 1.6 ha. Dispensaries = 18,000/6,000 = 3, needing 3 × 0.1 = 0.3 ha. Total = 1.6 + 0.3 = 1.9 ha. Using the area of 60 ha as if it were the population would give nonsense, so convert area to people first.