Preparing Master Plans/Development Plans for any urban settlements, basically and essentially, involves declaring a planning area for which the said long term plans are prepared. Planning area invariably includes and involves, number of rural settlements, which comprise of the planning area besides the urban settlement. It has been observed that in majority of cases, while detailed studies and analysis are carried out of the urban settlements but villages in the study and analysis remain marginalized, diluted and muted. Despite the fact, villages have critical role in the rational development of the urban settlement, but in preparing Master Plans their role and relevance is not made part of the said plan. Accordingly, this text tries to bring out the typologies of villages falling in the planning area and the suggested framework to develop these villages in making Master Plans, better Master Plan. In order to improve Master Plan qualitatively, quantitively, both in intent, contents and scope, It will be appropriate that all the villages falling in the planning area must be studied , analyzed and made integral part of the final outcome of the proposals of Master Plan. In-fact one Chapter must be exclusively dedicated to detail out the issues faced by the Villages and options which can be leveraged to promote the rational growth of villages ,as an integral part of the long term development of the urban settlement , for which the Master Plan is being prepared. This will help not only in integrating the urban- rural settlements falling in the planning area, but would also go a long way in promoting and ensuring rational growth and development of the urban settlement, for which the Master Plan is being prepared.

1. Suggestions and Options for Integrating villages within the
Framework in Master Plan ;
*Jit Kumar Gupta
**jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
Preparing Master Plans/Development Plans for any urban settlements, basically and
essentially, involves declaring a planning area for which the said long term plans are
prepared. Planning area invariably includes and involves, number of rural settlements,
which comprise of the planning area besides the urban settlement. It has been observed
that in majority of cases, while detailed studies and analysis are carried out of the urban
settlements but villages in the study and analysis remain marginalized, diluted and muted.
Despite the fact, villages have critical role in the rational development of the urban
settlement, but in preparing Master Plans their role and relevance is not made part of the
said plan. Accordingly, this text tires to bring out the typologies of villages falling in the
planning area and the suggested framework to develop these villages in making Master
Plans, better Master Plan. In order to improve Master Plan qualitatively, quantitively, both
in intent, contents and scope, It will be appropriate that all the villages falling in the
planning area must be studied , analyzed and made integral part of the final outcome of
the proposals of Master Plan. In-fact one Chapter must be exclusively dedicated to
detail out the issues faced by the Villages and options which can be leveraged to promote
the rational growth of villages ,as an integral part of the long term development of the
urban settlement , for which the Master Plan is being prepared. This will help not only in
integrating the urban- rural settlements falling in the planning area, but would also go a
long way in promoting and ensuring rational growth and development of the urban
settlement, for which the Master Plan is being prepared.
Village Typologies
Before identifying the problems/issues related to the villages and taking up the agenda
for planned growth, development and management of these villages, it will be
appropriate and essential to understand their structure, fabric, typologies existing in India.
Villages remain different and distinct when looking at the entire fabric of the country. Their
origin, growth, development, culture, structure, avocations, economy, food and pattern of
human habitation is largely driven by the climatic zones in which they are located because
climate has been considered valuable and a major determinant of typology of human

2. settlements. In addition to considering climate and five climatic zones into which India,
as a nation, has been divided, it will also be critical to study the location of such villages
in terms of topography and terrain. Villages in the hill areas remain different and distinct
from villages located in the plains, in terms of population, size, spread, activities, housing,
pattern of living and earning, employment, economy etc., While villages in hill areas
remain small and widely spread, villages in the plain areas remain large in size and
spread. Similarly, villages which are in close proximity to urban areas remain invariably
dense, showcasing numerous shades of urban culture and activities, as compared to
villages which are located away from the urban areas. Pattern of village development
also, varies based on size of the mother city, in proximity to which such villages have
location. Thus, based on these factors and variations, it will be appropriate to redefine
the typologies of villages based on which the issues/roadblocks faced by villages could
be identified and options for their rational development could be put in place. However,
all villages remain different and distinct and would need detailed study and in-depth
analysis for identifying the developmental issues/challenges faced by them, before
putting in required strategies and options for their planned development.
Based on physical and situational analysis , Indian villages can be divided into three
broad categories, Urban Villages; Urbanisable Villages and basic Villages as briefed
below;
 Urban Villages; This category of villages includes and involve those villages,
which were earlier located on the fringe of urban settlements and later on, due to
subsequent, growth, development, expansion of urban areas or due to extension
of the municipal boundaries, such villages came within the fold of urban
areas/limits of a statutory constituted urban local authority. In addition, it also
includes such villages ,which form part of the area selected for development of
new townships/green field development or areas selected for the expansion of
the existing new/old townships. undertaken by the parastatal agencies/
developers. Such villages are known as the urban villages in the parlance of
Indian planning vocabulary. These rural settlements, in majority of cases, don’t
have any agricultural land left with them, which is purchased / acquired primarily,
by the parastatal agencies for meeting the various needs of the urban
development.
 Urbanisable villages. Urbanisable villages, includes and involve those villages,
which don’t form part /fall within urban limits of any urban local bodies ,established
under any statute. including; Nagar Panchayat; Municipal Council, Municipal
Corporation or Cantonment Board These villages invariably have spatial location
outside the notified urban boundaries. However, these villages form part of and
are spaced in the local/regional planning area, declared under any statute, for
the purposes of preparation of the Development Plan/ Master Plan/Regional Plans

3. of the declared area. However, in these plans, villages which are located beyond
the existing urban limits but are proposed to be urbanized over the years due to
future growth and development of the existing city/town, are known to be
urbanisable villages.
 Basic Villages; Third category of villages, are the remaining villages which don’t
fall under any of the above mentioned two categories including urban villages
and urbanisable villages. These basic villages, by virtue of their location, have
little chance of coming into the urban-fold or being impacted by the urban culture
in the near future and accordingly remain free from numerous urban malice. These
villages represent true breed of Rural India.
Issues involving various typologies of Villages;
Based on the studies made and analysis carried out all the three different
typologies of villages defined above, face numerous challenges/issues related to
their growth and development. These issues largely remain the outcome of the
close interaction between urban and rural settlements leading to change in the
culture of rural settlements. Factors distinguishing the urban and rural settlement
are known to be the intensity, number and concentration of human beings and
typologies of physical/ social/economic activities taking place in such settlements.
Urban areas are marked by high intensity and concentration of such activities
within a given physical space as compared to rural areas, which distinguishes and
make them different and distinct. In the absence of integrated approach, both
urban and rural settlement face numerous development and operational
challenges. In case , urban villages come to be located within well- planned,
residential/commercial neighbourhoods- like in the city of Chandigarh- these urban
villages have created havoc for the adjoining well-planned residential /commercial
neighbourhoods and the smooth operation of the city. Challenges faced by the
various categories of villages are enumerated below.
 Urban Villages; Devoid of entire land resource meant for agriculture and left with
only abadi-deh area, urban villages in the Indian context, undergo rapid
transformation in their fabric, structure, culture, activities, pattern of growth and
development, due to coming into urban-fold and rapid urbanization taking place
around them. In the absence of applicability of appropriate rules and regulations
of development/construction of buildings, lack of adequate management
mechanism, high degree of politicization and vote bank politics, these villages face
perpetual neglect by local bodies, which has focus on urban areas. With the
unplanned development, urban villages, are plagued by and suffer from numerous
developmental hiccups and operational problems such as;
- Growth and development of abadi-deh area of urban villages is marked by high
degree of intensification and densification.

4. - Devoid of any agricultural land, pattern of activities shifts from agriculture to non-
agriculture and primary to secondary.
- Urban villages are distinguished and marked by large scale migration with
majority of original residents moving out and large number of urban residents
coming into village for living and working.
- Urban villages invariably record enormous rise in land prices due to large scale
land speculation, leading to commercialization of the area.
- Because of coming into the urban fold, urban villages showcase major impact of
urban culture, due to spacing of urban businesses and trades.
--Offering distinct advantages of comparatively cheaper rental options and
availability of larger space, urban villages become attractive destination for
shifting of trade and commerce, primarily led by ready/available market and close
proximity to surrounding urban development.
-- Urban villages showcase high intensity development. However, haphazard and
unplanned development remains the hallmark of such development
-Due to concentration of large urban activities and inadequate road widths; urban
villages face issues related to mobility, traffic and transportation and acute
shortage of parking etc.
- Coming into urban fold, Urban villages become centers of the informal urban
economy and a perennial source of environmental pollution.
- Urban villages remain distinguished by lack of basic infrastructure and services,
high residential/population density; mixing of incompatible land uses and poor
quality of life. In addition to suffering from the problems of congestion, growth and
development, these villages have been found to create major problems of
development in the adjoining areas, where these villages are located.
 Urbanisable Villages; This category of villages, despite the fact having location
in the urban hinterland, are eventually mandated to come within the urban fold in
the near/distant future, with the expansion of the cities. In fact, these are the urban
villages in the making/ future urban villages, considering their proximity to the
urban centre for which master plan/development plan/regional plans are prepared.
Villages, located in close proximity of the urban limits invariably form part of the
peri-urban areas. Land within the Abadi-deh area of these villages command high
premium because such land is considered safe because in majority of cases such
land remains exempted from the operation of the limitations imposed on land for
undertaking development and change of land use. Accordingly, land in these
villages remain valuable and commands high premium in the real estate market.
In addition to the land under abadi-deh, agricultural land of the village also
undergoes rapid change in land use under the impact of rapid urban development.
Since land beyond the urban limits remains outside the purview of urban local
bodies and is not subjected to rigorous developmental controls/building bye-

5. laws/sub-division regulations, , such land commands preference from institutions/
developers, due to lower prevailing land prices as compared to land within urban
limits and availability of large parcels of land for development. Urbanisable villages
like urban villages also suffer from numerous problems involving land speculation,
non-conforming land-uses, haphazard and unplanned development, lack of basic
amenities and services, narrow streets, problems related to efficient mobility,
traffic and transportation, lack of parking, problems of pollution and congestion,
existence of poor quality of life etc. However, the scale and intensity of these
problems goes on gaining momentum with the reduction of distance between
urban development and urbanisable villages
 Basic villages; Basic villages , by virtue of their location, have little chance of
coming into the urban-fold or being impacted by the urban culture in the near
future and accordingly remain free from urban malice. These villages represent
true hue and culture of rural India. Despite being free from the urban related malice,
these villages suffer from development and infrastructure blues. These villages
largely represent a state of development which remains low and devoid of basic
amenities and services. These villages don’t have the pressure of population and
development activities. In majority of cases such villages suffer from the problem
of limited accessibility and connectivity with nearby urban areas/ villages. Land
values remain low and land speculation remains limited. Quality of housing also
remain largely of low quality. Eduction and health facilities remain marginalized.
The economic fabric of these basic villages is largely marked by poverty, low level
of skilling and large scale unemployment. In number of cases such villages remain
prone to natural and manmade disasters including flooding on regular basis. In
the absence of assured irrigation facilities, the agriculture largely depends upon
the monsoon. Agricultural practices remain ancient/outdated leading to lower
productivity and lower return/income from agriculture. These villages are generally
ignored by parastatal agencies for development and growth. Because of low level
of development, these villages offer better chances of planned growth and
development, provided adequate attention and technical know-how is made
available for empowering these villages
Options and Approach for development of Villages.
Villages have been part of human history, growth and development. Villages are going
to stay, till human beings remain on this planet earth. Being the cradle of human living,
growth and development, villages need care, caution, support and empowerment.
Villages need to be valued , both as a cradle of culture and basis for entire humanity, and
accordingly need focused attention and dedication of architects, planners, professional
and administrators. No nation globally has become great by ignoring its villages. Majority
of ills/problems faced by cities, has genesis and is the outcome of the policy/approach

6. put in place to marginalize the villages. Developing nations, remain in crisis simply for the
reason, that they promote and pamper cities by ignoring, diluting and marginalizing its
villages.
Considering rapid growth and development of cities, and future projections made for
rapid and massive urbanization, it can be safely concluded that large number of villages
will either acquire the status of towns/cities or many villages will go into the urban fold ,
due to uncontrolled growth/expansion of cities or due to extension of urban limits. It
needs to be understood and appreciated that large number of today’s villages, are going
to be towns/cities of tomorrow. Looking at the existing scenario, there exists close
relationship between both the urban and rural settlements and accordingly calls for
making villages integral part of urban planning and development process. Even where
urban and rural areas don’t remain directly connected , still considering the context of
villages, they deserve to be treated with care and caution and require empowerment by
providing the benefit of planned and orderly development duly supported by provision of
all the basic necessities, essentials for quality human living.
In order to launch Rural India on the fast trajectory of planned growth and rational
development, it will be important and relevant to understand different typologies of
villages existing in India, their relationship and context with urban counterparts. All three
typologies of villages namely; urban villages, urbanizable villages and basic villages
defined above , despite being villages in its own right, has different contexts and
challenges and accordingly would need different options for its rational growth and
development. Unfortunately, in the Indian context, very little focus has been given and
effort has been made in the planning profession to evolve appropriate strategies to
rationalize the growth and development of villages in a planned manner. In majority of
cases, effort remains focused on growth and development of the urban areas , leading
to marginalization of villages. Even large number of villages, notified as integral part of
long-term urban planning, in the shape of Master Plans/Development Plans , don’t find
any reference/space regarding their planning, growth, development and management in
such plans, which remain focused only on the core city. Only few Master
Plans/Development Plans, contain reference to villages included in the planning areas,
but even those reference made in the margins remain diluted and muted.
Considering the fact that majority of ills, problems and challenges facing/plaguing the
urban areas have genesis in the neglect of rural areas/settlements, accordingly ,it will be
appropriate that rational and planned growth and development of such villages, should
be made integral part of the urban planning process. In fact, all villages need to be
included in the parlance of planning so that they are provided with appropriate quality of
life, gainful employment and all basic amenities/infrastructure/services related to
healthcare, education, leisure besides roads, water supply, sanitations, solid waste

7. management etc. which are considered and valued as essentials for quality human
living.
Before defining the agenda of the growth and development for each category of villages,
specifically and individually, it will relevant and prudent to state few of the broad
principles which should be universally made applicable to all the villages existing in the
country, irrespective of its location, size, shape etc. Adoption of these principles of
planning and development shall invariably help in easier integration of the villages with
urban areas, as and when such villages come into the urban fold. These principles will
help in maintaining the basic character of village without losing their identity and culture ,
as and when they will be spaced within the urban limits. In addition, it will help in taking
away majority of urban ills besides making the urban growth more rational and orderly.
These principles could be defined as;
 All existing villages falling in the planning area , should be mapped to scale,
using GIS technology /satellite imagery, in terms of its location, land holdings,
occupation, social structure, housing , population, streets, mobility, land uses,
infrastructure, amenities, services, institutions etc., available within the village
and embedded into a base plan created for the village. This will be valuable to
create a data base for each village for taking decisions regarding its planning,
development and management. Availability of base plan will help in mapping the
current status of village with regard to its available infrastructures, services,
development and gaps/deficiency , if any. It will also help in making optimum use
of available resources by avoiding duplication/replication of amenities already
existing in the village.
 All villages shall be brought under a well- defined planning and development
framework, defining the vision, objectives, process and approach to
planning/development of individual village.
 Village planning shall invariably include and involve preserving, promoting,
protecting and making value addition to the basic rural character, as part of of
the planning and development strategies. Planning shall also include respect for
history and character of each village besides preserving and maintaining its
unique culture, values and heritage- both natural and manmade.
 Appropriate planning and development , norms and standards for the villages shall
be prepared and defined, based on detailed studies made and analysis carried out
of the basic essential of village living and operations. These norms and plans
should not only meet the existing requirement of the population in terms of
infrastructure and services but shall also accommodate the future needs of quality
living and gainful employment.
 Funding mechanism for development of village should be detailed out along with
the requirement of resources for planned development and made integral part of
the budgetary process for allocation of assured resources.

8.  Planning of villages shall be based on the principles of making villages self-
sustaining and self-reliant in all physical, social, economic aspects and basic
amenities, essential for day-today quality living. The objective of planning shall
invariably remain; to bridge the existing gap and strengthen the basic
infrastructure in village.
 Planning with nature , promoting environment, ecology and bio-diversity shall
remain the underlying principles of village planning and development.
 SDG 11, shall also be made the objective to be achieved by making villages
inclusive, safe , resilient and sustainable.
 All villages will be planned based on the analogy of having adequate
infrastructures/institutions in the domain of education and healthcare. All villages
will have universal education. Focus of rural education will be empowering and
skilling the villagers, to increase their productivity and preparing them for gainful
learning and employment
 Technology shall be made integral part of village planning, development and
management process .
 Adopting co-operative approach ,based on involving all communities/
stakeholders, shall remain the focus of village planning and management.
 Creating adequate and appropriate institutional framework for development and
management shall be made integral part of village planning and development
process.
 Adequate provision for spacing the industries and shopping area shall be made
within the planning framework evolved for the villages.
 All residential houses shall be retrofitted, planned and designed to be
permanent, having the benefit of fresh air, natural light and natural ventilation.
Each house shall have the provision of open space, toilet, space for cooking and
assured potable water supply besides disposal of waste water and solid waste.
 All villages shall be planned and designed on the concept of zero-energy by
making use of gobar gas and generating its own energy using the natural
resources of sun, air, geo-thermal and bio-mass energy. Organic agriculture shall
be promoted at local level.
 Water conservation shall remain a priority, with waste water integrated with
agriculture. Use of ground water for agriculture shall be minimized. Focus shall
also involve promoting rain-water harvesting and ‘retaining rain water rather than
draining water’.
 Separate provision for animals to be placed at one place , on co-operative
basis, will be made integral part of village planning. Concept of mixing human
beings and animals shall be dispensed with for better health and hygiene.
Provision for installing gobar gas plant and sale/purchase of dairy products shall
also be made integral part of such a complex.

9.  Large scale plantation of trees shall be made mandatory, with all available space
used for plantation / growing forests, for achieving the sustainability
 All available spaces within the village shall be used on the basis/principle of
24x7x365 days to make optimum use of available land.
 Attempt shall be made to remove all existing social stratification among residents
of the village based on religion, caste, culture. economic and social factor by
mixing of housing and sharing of common facilities for bringing all communities
on a common platform.
 Simplified rules and regulations governing the construction of buildings, use of
land, width of streets, set- backs , height of buildings, ground coverage etc., shall
be defined and made applicable to all villages. Abadi-deh areas of the villages
shall be subjected to simplified provision of growth and development, including
rules, regulations and norms governing the built environment. Building bye- laws
framed shall always, while addressing the specific need of the villages, shall also
focus on retaining basic rural character of village. These bye laws shall be framed
following an intense consultative process with the rural population and experts
having understanding, knowledge, expertise and experience in the domain of
rural development. No building shall be permitted to exceed the height of 35 feet
with number of storeys restricted to three for individual building. Variation of
building height shall be considered on different streets, considering the available
street width and considerations of air, light and ventilation.
 All properties including the ownership of land held within Abadi-deh/village and
extent of agricultural land owned in the village and the original pace of residence
shall be documented and paced in the data bank of the village. All transfer of
properties shall be recorded and permitted after following the defined procedure
for the sale and purchase of land. All addition and alterations made in the houses
shall also be recorded.
 Village planning shall invariably be based on promoting pedestrianization and not
using mechanical vehicles. Planning for people and not for vehicles; and promoting
accessibility and not mobility shall remain the governing principle for planning of
the traffic and transportation and defining the mobility within the village.
 Existing ponds in the villages, shall be protected , conserved and preserved by
undertaking dedicated projects. These ponds besides partially meeting the needs
of the water for the village shall also serve the purpose of storing the rainwater
besides and rain water harvesting. Area around ponds shall also be developed for
recreation and leisure for the village by appropriate landscaping and making
provisions of open gyms..
Urban Villages; To deal with existing villages, coming into the urban fold, two options
can be made use of. When the entire agricultural land of the village is acquired , in

10. such cases , first option shall be to acquire the entire land falling under Abadi-deh
area along with the existing structures, which could be demolished to merge the land
into agricultural land. This option offers a clean slate for the planners to plan and
develop the city besides avoiding the subsequent hassles of unplanned and
haphazard development, as was done in the case of Stage-I of Chandigarh
development. This option has distinct advantages of making the development of the
area free from all encumbrances and avoiding subsequent land speculations.
However, this option has its own limitations, involving lot of hardship to the existing
residents of the village and resistance of the villagers. In a democratic society, this
option also involves political implications and can only be exercised, if political support
is properly garnered. Further, this option should only be exercised, if the village is
small , has limited population, agricultural practices remain marginalized and
residents has low level of income. This option can also be leverages effectively and
efficiently, by providing incentives, involving framing a supportive rehabilitation policy
which involves providing built-up houses to the persons residing in the Abadi-deh
area, depending upon the built areas they hold in the village, along with offering job to
a member in each family. This will require detailed consultation with the local
communities and making them understand the context , contents , objectives and
benefits to the residents of such option.
In majority of cases, option of acquiring the land under Abadi-deh areas remains
remote and rare. In such cases , the only option remains is to adjust such villages
within the proposed new developmental framework. Policy option in such cases
should involve; gelling the existing village land with the proposed new development
while eliminating/minimizing the chances of misuse/abuse of the land falling within
the Abadi-Area . In addition, policy should include minimizing the element of
speculation by original landowners for real estate development by selling the land
to landsharks. For achieving the objectives of rational and planned development,
following framework for urban villages is suggested.
 At the time of acquisition of agricultural land , land falling within the Abadi-deh
area should also be mapped and documented in terms of ownership, area,
extent of construction; housing, existing land uses, setbacks , height of
buildings, available open spaces, road network, institutions etc.
 Sale , purchase and transfer of land falling within the Abadi area, shall be
prohibited and regulated by procedure specified. Initially, a moratorium
period may be prescribed within which transfer of land from villagers to out-
siders from villages shall be prohibited. In case of transfer of abdi-deh land,
no-objection certificate will have to be sourced from the competent authority
before registration of the transfer deed. However, all transfers of ownership

11. will be subjected to preserving the basic character of the property without
making any change of land use/commercialization.
 Change of land use and sub-division of land shall be prohibited and regulated
by a well-defined policy framework. However, transfer/sub-division of land
within the family shall be permitted, subject to specified norms.
 Area falling under Abadi-deh shall be planned and integrated with the
planning of the adjoining area/ neighborhood.
 Planning framework for the Abadi-area shall be based on the principle of
retaining, preserving, promoting and making value-addition to the rural
character and rural culture in the area. All concepts leading to
commercialization and urbanization shall invariably be avoided.
 Detailed land-use plan shall be prepared , with all open spaces preserved and
enhanced/used for creating institutions and facilities lacking in the village. All
efforts of planning shall be directed to make value addition to the area and
improving the quality of life of the rural residents
 Uses related to preserving heritage, promoting tourism, showcasing the life
of Indian villages and promoting the basic activities/rural art, shall be
integrated in the planning process,
 Focus of village planning will be to create avenues of gainful employment,
skilling of villagers and economic empowerment of the rural communities.
 Planning shall also focus on making available all the basic and facilities and
amenities essential for education and healthcare and meeting day-to-day
needs of the village communities besides making village communities self-
reliant and self-sustaining.
 Detailed building by-laws regulating the construction of buildings shall be put
in place on priority. All commercialization of buildings, by changing its land-
use, increasing the footprints of the buildings and changing its length, breadth,
depth and volume shall be strictly controlled and regulated. All changes,
additions and alterations to the buildings or adding new construction shall
be subjected to prior approval. While framing the bye-laws, care shall be
taken that existing culture and character of buildings shall not be
changed/destroyed by the induction of glass or other facades etc.
Accordingly, urban design guidelines along with materials to be used in the
façade of buildings shall be specifically specified and made part of said
building rules. Building bye-laws shall be prepared with care and caution to
avoid commercialization of built up space and changing the sky-line of the
building.
 A dedicated team with domain expert shall be put in place for regulating ,
monitoring, guiding and assisting the landowners regarding all the issues
related to growth and development in the village.

12.  Villagers shall be permitted to source advise , assistance, guidance, co-
operation, collaboration and support from outside expert
agencies/institutions, for under-taking activities regarding promoting ethnicity
and tourism in the village.
 Promoting handicraft and village art shall be permitted on priority for
generating employment and raising economic standards of the rural
communities.
 Violations or unauthorized additions/alterations made in the built
environment, if any, shall be dealt on priority with all unauthorized
development demolished, with penalty.
 No regularization/compounding of the unauthorized development and change
of land use shall be permitted, within Abadi-deh area.
 Detailed landscape plan for the village shall be prepared and implemented to
improve the micro-climate and retain the ethnic character of the villages. All
options of creating congestion and concentration of commercial activities shall
invariably be dispensed with.
 All common land vested with the village Panchayat shall be transferred to the
urban local body/ Development Authority, regulating the planning and
development of the said area. Revenue generated out of the use of common
land shall be kept in a separate account and shall be used only for the
development of village and infrastructure required to be provided for the use
of village community and for no other purposes. A dedicated fund for the
orderly growth and rational development of urban villages shall be created.
Urbanisable Villages; As already defined above, urbanisable villages are those
villages , located in close proximity to the urban areas and forming part of peri-urban
areas. This also includes, villages which are located in the planning areas, notified under
the provision of the State Town Planning Act/ Development Authority Act ,for the
preparation of Development Plans/ Master Plans, and fall under the extended
urbanisable area in the said plan.
Considering their location and context, these villages are going to be urban villages in
the near future. Since these villages form part of the defined extended urban area, such
villages invariably will face challenges similar to the one encountered by the urban
villages but to a limited extent. For rationalizing the growth and development of such
villages; strategies and options defined for managing urban villages, shall also be made
applicable to such villages. The character of such villages shall be maintained only rural,
and all efforts shall be made to promote rural and ethnic culture prevailing in the said
village. Since all villages remain different and distinct, studies made and planning options
used for the village shall invariably focus on identifying, preserving and promoting the
identified culture of the village.

13. Biggest roadblock in managing the orderly growth and development, is the location of
such villages outside the urban limits and under the jurisdiction of rural Panchayats.
Since these Panchayats have no knowledge understanding , expertise, resources and
manpower available for managing the developmental issues, the situation is exploited
by developers for obtaining the approval of Panchayats for setting up institutions and
creating commercial spaces. In order to check this malice and jurisdictional issues , it
will be appropriate to declare the Development Authority/ department/agency having
ownership of the Master Plan/Development Plan, to be competent authority and vested
with the role, authority and responsibility for regulating and managing the development
in the planning area as per the provision of the said plans, so that planning and
development of such villages is appropriately regulated.
 All these villages shall be mapped, on individual basis, on the analogy of urban
villages, in terms of ownership, area, extent of construction, open spaces available,
existing land uses, setbacks , height of buildings, , road network, institutions,
infrastructure, services etc.
 Detailed land use plans for these villages shall be prepared within the framework
defined in the Master Plans/ development Plans.
 Planning of the villages shall be dictated by the principle of maintaining the identity
and culture of the village.
 Focus of village planning will be to create avenues of gainful employment, skilling
of villagers and economic empowerment of the rural communities.
 Planning shall also focus on fulfilling the bridging the gap and making available
all the facilities and amenities essential for education, leisure, recreation,
healthcare and meeting day-to-day needs of the village communities besides
making village communities self-reliant and self-sustaining
 While framing the bye-laws, care shall be taken that changing the character and
culture of buildings shall not be changed/destroyed by the induction of glass or
other facades etc. Accordingly, urban design guidelines along with materials to be
used in the façade of buildings shall be specified and made part of said building
rules.
 Additions and alterations leading to changing the character and
commercialization of the villages shall be rejected.
 Building bye-laws, regulating the new construction and making additions and
alterations in the existing buildings, shall be made integral part of preparation of
master plans.
 Sub-division of land and change of land use shall be prohibited, except in
accordance with the development plans, subject to prior approval of the competent
authority.
 Detailed landscape plan for the village shall be prepared and implemented to
improve the micro-climate and retain the ethnic character of the villages. All

14. options of creating congestion and concentration of commercial activities shall
invariably be dispensed with.
 All common land vested with the village Panchayat shall be transferred to the
urban local body/ Development Authority, regulating the planning and
development of the said area. Revenue generated out of the use of said land,
shall be kept in a separate account and shall be used only for the development of
village and infrastructure required to be provided for the use of village community
and for no other purposes. Out of the resources generated, a dedicated fund for
the orderly growth and rational development of the village shall be created.
 Dedicated manpower shall be put in place to approve/ regulate, aid, advise the
construction, making addition and alterations to the buildings as per the prescribed
building rules.
 Villages shall be permitted to practice agriculture in the village land, outside Abadi-
deh area till the agrictural land is acquired or sold for urbanization purposes.
However, checks and balances will be put in place to check unauthorized activities;
haphazard and unplanned development; unauthorized sub-division/change of land
use, speculation/urbanization/commercialisation of land.
Basic Villages; Excluding the above two categories, all remaining villages in India, fall
within the domain and definition of basic villages .In fact these villages represent the
essence of rural India, because these villages remain free/untouched from the
shadows/colours of urbanization. These villages remain rooted to land and agricultural
practices. In majority of cases, these villages have population less than 500 and lesser
concentration of activities. Due to limited accessibility, these villages face lot of
developmental challenges besides high degree of deficiency in healthcare, education and
skilling besides low per capita income. These villages also remain plagued with high
degree of poverty. Quality housing in such villages remains a major problem. Agricultural
practices also remain old, outdated and inefficient. These villages remain prone to
disasters both natural and manmade. Haphazard and unplanned and sub-standard
development/ housing remains the hallmark of such villages. Because of low level of
development , these basic villages offer enormous opportunities of rational and orderly
development of rural India. Accordingly, basic villages need support, care and
empowerment for emancipating rural India and removing rural poverty.
However, looking at the entire context, these basic villages need planned development
and spaced within the planning framework. Accordingly, these villages need to be made
integral part of the regional planning framework for empowerment and development.
Basic villages need to be planned and designed on the principles with growth and
development made to revolve around;

15.  All the Abadi-deh area of the basic villages need to be mapped in terms of its
existing framework including different land uses; built environment; road
network, basic infrastructure services, amenities and facilities; land ownership;
households; institutions etc.
 Planning of such villages shall be carried out based on conducting detailed study
and analysis of existing status of development, identifying issues and road-blocks
hampering the rational growth and development of village ; recording gap in the
infrastructure and amenities and missing opportunities for employment. Based
on studies conducted and analysis carried out, strategies to place village on the
fast track of growth and development shall be framed and made operational.
 Orderly growth and development besides creating opportunities for gainful
employment and maintaining the culture and basic rural character shall remain
the focus of such planning and development. All planning strategies put in place
and made operational in basic villages shall invariably be based on intensive
consultation with local residents for achieving the defined objectives of growth and
development.
 Defining building bye-laws in simple and systematic manner shall remain the
agenda for modulating the built environment.
 Since these villages falls under the domain of the Panchayat/Rural Development
Department, accordingly on the analogy of Department of urban local bodies, a
dedicated Planning and Designing unit within the fold of Rural Development
Department should be created , for mapping all the basic villages and carrying out
detailed planning of such villages. The planning unit created in the department,
should be equipped with adequate manpower and resources- both technical and
financial -to map and plan these villages. The unit will also be mandated to
handhold the Panchayats , working at local level, besides advising the people
seeking technical support regarding construction of housing etc.
 All yojnas, missions and program focused on development of the rural areas shall
be converged at the village level and embedded into the planning and
development framework evolved for the village.
 Dedicated funds shall also be marked in the budget of the respective Panchayats
for making available assured funds for development.
 Existing ponds in the villages, shall be protected , conserved and preserved by
undertaking dedicated projects. These ponds besides partially meeting the
needs of the water for the village shall also serve the purpose of storing the
rainwater besides and rain water harvesting. Area around ponds shall also be
developed for recreation and leisure for the village by appropriate landscaping
and making provisions of open gims.
 Sale , purchase and transfer of land falling within the Abadi area, shall be
regulated by procedure specified. However, all transfers of ownership will be

16. subjected to preserving the basic character of the land without making any
change of land use/commercialization
 Planning framework for the Abadi-area shall be based on the principle of
retaining, preserving, promoting and making value-addition to the rural character
and rural culture in the area. All concepts leading to commercialization and
urbanization shall invariably be avoided.
 Detailed land-use plan shall be prepared , with all open spaces preserved and
enhanced/used for creating institutions and facilities lacking in the village. All
efforts of planning shall be directed to make value addition to the area and
improving the quality of life of the rural residents
 Uses related to preserving heritage, promoting tourism, showcasing the life of
Indian villages and promoting the basic activities/rural art, shall be integrated in
the planning process,
 Focus of village planning will be to create avenues of gainful employment, skilling
of villagers and economic empowerment of the rural communities.
 Villages will be planned with focus on making them self-reliant in the domain of
energy to make them zero-energy. Gobar gas shall be used for cooking/lighting
whereas generating electrify from renewable resource shall be taken up on
priority.
 Waste water from houses shall be integrated with agriculture to reduce the
pressure on ground water resource.
 Adequate space shall be created for setting up agro-based industry to create
options for gainful employment and promoting rural economy.
 Adoption of Co-operative approach and bringing all stakeholders operating in the
villages on common platform to synergies their strength shall remain the priority
area.
 Making available Housing ,employment, basic infrastructure, healthcare ,
education and food for all shall remain the agenda for the planned development
of the villages.