Planning Legislation: MP Town and Country Planning Act and the Constitutional Frame
Planning Legislation tests the legal machinery behind a plan: which statute empowers which authority, what sequence an approval follows, and which constitutional provision obliges a committee to exist. In Madhya Pradesh the state statutes dominate, but the 74th Amendment and central environmental and land laws set the boundary within which they operate.
State statutes to know
- MP Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam, 1973 (MP Town and Country Planning Act) - provides for survey, preparation and enforcement of development plans, constitutes the Director of Town and Country Planning and Town and Country Development Authorities, and enables Town Planning schemes in which owners surrender land for roads and public purposes and receive reconstituted final plots in exchange.
- MP Nagar Palika Adhiniyam, 1961 and MP Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 - building permission, layout approval, municipal taxation.
- MP Bhumi Vikas Rules, 2012 - the operative building bye-laws (setbacks, heights, parking).
The federal frame
- 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IX-A and the Twelfth Schedule (18 items); Article 243W lists municipal powers, 243ZD mandates District Planning Committees, 243ZE mandates Metropolitan Planning Committees.
- RFCTLARR Act, 2013 replaced the 1894 Land Acquisition Act; consent of 80% of affected families is required for private projects and 70% for public-private partnerships.
- EIA Notification, 2006 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 - building and construction projects of 20,000 sq m built-up area or more need prior environmental clearance.
- RERA, 2016 - registration required for projects over 500 sq m or 8 apartments.
Worked example
A developer proposes a 25,000 sq m group housing project in Indore. Reasoning chain: (1) land use must conform to the sanctioned master plan; (2) building permission issues from the municipal corporation under the MP Bhumi Vikas Rules, 2012; (3) because built-up area exceeds 20,000 sq m, prior environmental clearance from the SEIAA is needed under the 2006 notification; (4) RERA registration follows as the project exceeds both thresholds. Missing step (3) is the standard examiner's trap.
Traps that cost marks
- Swapping Article 243W with 243ZD or 243ZE.
- Quoting 29 items for the Twelfth Schedule (that is the Eleventh Schedule, panchayats).
- Citing the 1894 Act as live law - it was repealed by the 2013 Act.