Jaipur: Following a Rajasthan high court interim order that has put the brakes on the Jaipur Development Authority’s (JDA) plans to expand its jurisdiction, a new study by town planning experts has revealed significant flaws in the proposed draft of the Master Plan 2047. The study indicates that the expansion of the JDA’s jurisdiction may not adhere to the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines. The present URDPFI guidelines were established in 2015 by the NDA govt. Notably, the population density within the JDA’s proposed expansion area would be alarmingly low—estimated at just 23 persons per hectare—when the URDPFI guidelines suggest a norm of 175 persons per hectare for cities of Jaipur’s size, which has a population exceeding 50 lakh. This disparity suggests that the draft plan includes many sparsely populated rural areas, which is inconsistent with effective urban planning practices. Furthermore, the study reveals that the JDA plans to govern an area of 6,500 sq km, with 3,500 sq km designated as urbanisable. However, according to URDPFI standards, the urbanisable area should not exceed 457 sq km for a city like Jaipur. This implies that the JDA is looking to manage over 3,000 sq km more of urbanisable land than what is typically appropriate for such a population. Experts are warning that this kind of planning could severely hamper the quality of civic services and infrastructure available to residents. One town planner said, “This situation arises because the state govt aims to extend the JDA’s jurisdiction by incorporating more rural areas than needed. Such an unscientific master plan will negatively impact essential services for everyday citizens.” Interestingly, the planners compared the current draft to past attempts, noting that the 1971 master plan had a more reasonable approach, closely aligning with URDPFI standards. The Institution of Town Planners, India had earlier written to the Urban Development and Housing secretary, warning that Jaipur’s planning structure was already inadequate. It noted that while around 53 Indian cities, including Jaipur, have a three-tier administrative framework comprising municipal corporations, development authorities and metropolitan regional development authorities, Jaipur effectively operates with only a two-tier system. Retired additional chief town planner of Rajasthan Chandra Sekhar Parashar said Jaipur lacks the supporting legal framework to regulate peripheral rural areas separately, and alleged that the draft Master Plan 2047 had merged both second- and third-tier settlements under the development authority despite prior warnings from planners.
