Planning Division in BDA is the monitoring wing of the planned growth across the plan area under the development authority, as the growth parameters are governed by the Planning and Building Standards Regulations of the Odisha Development Authorities Act, 1982.
While it has prepared a Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) in 2010 and later Zonal Development Plans to ensure better and effective micro-level planning, the day-to-day activities do centre around providing building plan approval for individual houses, apartments, multi-storeyed structures, market complexes, educational institutions and recreational centres.
However, many other major activities are there by the Planning Division. They include :
Zonal Development Plan: BDA is developing a draft Zonal Development Plan for some areas under the CDP using various tools and principles like transit oriented development, mixed land use and improvement in road network.
Ring Road & Town Planning Scheme: BDA has notified ring road alignment in Bhubaneswar Development Plan area in 2016. It has taken up development of eight town planning (TP), which would ensure alignment of the proposed ring road. Later the development authority has the proposal to take up 45 more TP Schemes to complete the ring road alignment.
Updated GIS database & Bhubaneswar One: While with a view of creating GIS database for preparation of CDP of new areas in Bhubaneswar Development Plan Area (BDPA), BDA has engaged Orissa Space Application Centre (ORSAC), as part of the Smart City Proposal a web-based map portal Bhubaneswar One was developed and launched by the GIS branch of the Planning Division.
Heritage Cell
A heritage and tourism cell has been constituted in the Planning Department for supervision and monitoring of important projects taken up by BDA like Heritage Conservation Plan, Listing of Monuments, Heritage Walks and other events. The cell has recently initiated the city branding project named “Bhubaneswar.ME” under which a website has been developed incorporating all Tourist information and information on places of interest in and around the city.
Transportation Initiatives: Activity-wise Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan is under preparation for the proposed Transit Corridors in the CDP and ZDPs. TOD Plan is aiming at corridor-wise TOD strategy, transit detailed project report, non-motorised transportation infrastructure with transit station design and TOD station areas and zonal development plans with TOD principles.
New Plans: In order to showcase the transformation of the ancient temple city to the State Capital and ultimately a Smart City, a Museum of Urban History is being proposed, which will also chronicle the various aspects of Master plan, zonal plan, modern approach in city planning, future strategies and others.
While a heritage cycle tour will be added under the Heritage Cell, a Phase II project for Bhubaneswar One, automation in Building Plan Approval, E-vehicle policy and Eco City project and infrastructure boost for the World Cup Hockey, 2018 would be other focus areas of the Planning Wing.
This Branch deals with compliances to different matters like replying to RTI queries, drafting agenda notes for different meetings, preparation of proceedings and taking follow up actions on the decisions taken in the authority meetings, DP & BP meetings etc.
The functions of general branch are as follows:
- Issues related to RTI Act.
- Assembly questions.
- Parliamentary questions.
- Management of the Planning Establishment.
- IR & AG Audit.
- Odisha Public Service Deliveries Act, 2012.
- Public Grievances.
- Issues related to Finance and Budget.
- Convening of DP & BP Committee and matters related to same.
- Supervising the work of Process Manager For Building Plan Approval.
- Issues related to Authority Meetings.
- Issues related to Advisory Council meetings.
- Issues related to Bank Guarantee & Revocation of same etc.
- Compliances to Vigilance/CBI/Crime Branch and other enquiring agencies.
- To spear head Public Awareness Activities, workshops on matters related to Planning Branch.
- Miscellaneous Correspondence from Govt. or Public.
- Issue & Dispatch of letters of Planning Department.
The Master Planning Branch deals with the preparation, modification and implementation of different development plans prescribed under the provisions of Odisha Development Authorities Act, 1982, namely, Interim Development Plan, Comprehensive Development Plan, Zonal Development Plan and Local Development Plan. This branch is also responsible for preparation of other master plans of various scale, size or type, such as Regional Plan/ Metropolitan Development Plan, Area Development Plan, Project Specific Master Plans, Urban Redevelopment/Renewal Proposals, etc, as well as any other matter in relation to the aforesaid.
Major projects dealt
The basic concept of Town Planning Schemes is pooling together all the land under different ownerships and redistributing it in a properly reconstituted form after deducting the land required for open spaces, social infrastructures, services, housing for the economically weaker section, and road network. This process enables the local authority to develop land without fully acquiring it and gives it a positive control over the design and dynamics the timing of the urbangrowth.
The Town Planning Scheme is Micro Plan/sector plan (TP Scheme) for smaller portions of the development area by incorporating the Development Plan proposal prepared at macro level which is also knowns as “Land Pooling and readjustment”.
In this method, Lands are pooled only to the extent of requirement of road network and sites for physical, socio-economic infrastructure. Fiscal requirement for pooling will be comparatively low and in addition this cost is so adjusted against the betterment levy on the land owners as would make it zero or negligible. Land owners are allotted back a substantial portion of their original holding in a planned manner with provision of socio-economic and physical infrastructure.
Looking to the distresses involved in land acquisition like dispossession of land rights, compensation, and initial expenditure involved for government to acquire land, lengthy & cumbersome process, litigation etc.
On the other end, Preparation and implementation of Town Planning Schemes under the Odisha Development Authorities Act : 1982, Rules : 1983, & OTP & IT Act : 1956 are preferred to such implementation by taking recourse to Land Acquisition Act 1894. Gist of this technique is as follows:
- To direct & promote development on the high demand areas.
- The allotment or allocation of land for public purpose of all kinds.
- Roads, traffic & transportation.
- Housing schemes for all class of people.
- Industrial and commercial uses.
- Open spaces, gardens, recreation grounds, green belts.
- Public uses like school, markets, dispensary , Post Office, Police Station.
- Govt. & Semi Govt.
- Public Utilities.
- Agriculture & water bodies.
- Any other use of national importance / interest.
- Extensive public participation through series of consultative meetings in a rational, equitable and democratic way.
- Idea is to provide Serviced land prior to the development takes place.
- Approval of building plans would be faster, precise and hassle-free for all.
- Constitutionally valid piece of legislation and at the same time it doesn’t violate the constitutional rights of individuals.
- It is the Social act, frame for the welfare of the society.
- It provides the ample support to meet with the cost of scheme including cost of infrastructure and cost of compensation paid to the land owners for offering portion of their land.
- Classic and proven example of public participation and partnership model.
It is quite evident that the land pooling and readjustment method i.e Town Planning Scheme is far more equitable, rationale and democratic when compared to the method of bulk land acquisition.
This has worked extremely successfully and has many crucial lessons to offer to not only other parts of India but globally, how land can be utilized as resources for the provision of infrastructure and generating financial resources for urban local bodies, corporations, and urban development authorities through public participation and partnership, where; Government acts as facilitator/Service Provider and not as a developer.
The CDP is a broad-brush development vision for the city a dynamic document which then is detailed gradually. Most importantly, the new areas for growth to be opened up for development are clearly marked and divided into smaller areas. The TPS are micro plans prepared for about 100 to 500 acres typically involving 500 to 2000 numbers of plots.
Environmental and public space management branch functions under Planning Department of BDA. The scope of the department includes proper management of existing public places, heritage areas, places of tourist interest in a sustainable manner. It also deals with ways to mitigate the effects of development on natural resources and environment sensitive areas of the city. The activities of this branch have been broadly categorized under the following headings:
- Heritage Development.
- Tourism Promotion and City Branding.
- Environmental Sustainability.
- Public Space Management.
- Miscellaneous.
Heritage Development
- In the Master Plan of Bhubaneswar, an area of 1112 Acres in Old Town has been identified as Heritage District under which the following development projects have been initiated.
- Streetscape design of 15 km road network is to be done for which survey work has been started.
- 5 Parks have been identified which are to be redesigned.
- 1 LQC Project is being designed for developing the Lingaraj Plaza.
- Heritage Signage Guidelines has been prepared to bring uniformity and consistency in the signage within the heritage zone.
- Heritage design handbook under preparation.
- Listing, photo-documentation and GIS Mapping of 361 monuments in Bhubaneswar has been completed for notification of unprotected monuments as “City Protected Monuments”. Ground verification of the same is being done by BUKC.
- Secondary data collection and Chapterization for Heritage Management Plan and Urban Design Guidelines for Ekamra Kshetra is under process.
- Discussion are on for collaborating with GIZ India and NIUA for developing “Heritage-based City Development Strategic Plan” which will integrate the components like planning, economic growth and heritage conservation.
Tourism Promotion and City Branding
- A heritage and tourism cell has been constituted in the Planning Department for supervision and monitoring of important projects taken up by BDA like Heritage Conservation Plan, Listing of Monuments, Heritage Walks and other events. The cell has recently initiated the city branding project named “Bhubaneswar.ME” under which a website has been developed incorporating all Tourist information and information on places of interest in and around the city. (Website Link: bhubaneswar.me )
- A Hockey World Cup Cell has been functioning under this branch to monitor the activities to be undertaken by different city agencies e.g. BDA, BMC, BSCL and CRUT for the upcoming “Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup’2018”.
- Weekly heritage walks have been initiated with support from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Department of Tourism named as ‘Ekamra Walks’ in the Old Town area covering the Lingaraj Heritage Circuit in January 2017 while another covering the Udayagiri-Khandagiri Jain Heritage Circuit. Ekamra Walks along the Lingaraj Heritage circuit is conducted every Sunday morning while the walk along the Jain Circuit named ‘Monks, Kings and Caves’ is conducted every Saturday in morning hours. The ‘Museum Walk’ has also been initiated at Kalabhoomi with support from Handlooms, Textile and Handicrafts department which is being conducted every Sunday from 3pm to 5pm. (Website Link: www.ekamrawalks.com)
Environmental Sustainability
- An ECBC Cell has been established in BDA to ensure energy efficiency in the buildings in the city through implementation of Odisha ECBC Code, 2011. A consultation meeting has been held to discuss and take feedback of all the major stakeholders vendor list has been prepared who provide ECBC Compliant materials in the state.
- Initiated the process of rapid assessment study in Bhubaneswar to assess the potential for district cooling through DES in association with UNEP.
Public Space Management
- Conceptualization and design for Sikharchandi Theme Park is done.
- Development of Park Signage has been done.
- In order to showcase the transformation of the temple town of Bhubaneswar to the State Capital and the consecutive journey to become a Smart City, capturing all that’s essential and inimitable in the city, setting up of a Museum of Urban History is envisaged in the city. RFP for the same is under preparation.
- Music in Park Programme has been launched.
- Installation of Steel sculpture at Biju Pattnaik Park under progress.
- Redesigning 67 parks in the city is under progress.
- 1 LQC project at Unit II Market Building is under progress.
GIS related data and base map has become the essential requirement for any of the Planning related projects. GIS Branch will become Nodal Centre for GIS related Data Base management for the BDPA area. The branch will also take steps to keep the data bases up-to-date.
Major projects being dealt in the GIS branch are as follows:
- Preparation and compilation of GIS based database pertaining to various activities of planning branches like Master Planning, Environment & PS Management, T.P Scheme etc.
- Updation of GIS base data base layers like land use-land cover map, Revenue maps, satellite imagery etc required for development activities.
- Providing support in GIS verifications/analysis w.r.t the ongoing applications submitted for Building Plan approval/sub-division of land etc.
- Providing support in GIS verification w.r.t the NOC applications.
- Mapping and preparation of layers required for specific projects.
- Coordination with ORSAC with regard to the assignment given to them for preparation of land use/land course for extended BDA area and updation of same for present CDP area.
This branch deals with the process of approval of Building plan Applications, verifications of Un-authorized constructions etc. This branch works through two field divisions.
The functions of Building Plan Approval branch are as follows:
- Approvals Of Building Plans Applications.
- Maintenance of Bank Guarantees and issue of Occupancy Certificates.
- Amnesty Schemes.
- Verification of unauthorised construction through Enforcement.
- Views on UAP cases related to concerned divisions.
The Regulatory and Legal branch is responsible for keeping various Rules and Regulations up to date. This includes proposing and drafting necessary amendments of different rules and regulations etc. It also provides regulatory framework and prescribes Standard Operating Procedures for taking up all activities related to it. Other than the aforesaid functions, the branch deals with empanelment/registration of certified professionals or builders, policy matters related to Land Pooling Schemes, land assemble tools, etc.
The functions of Regulatory and Legal branch are as follows:
- ODA Act and Rules.
- Planning & Building Standard Regulations & Specific Regulations.
- Master Plan Land Policy.
- TDR Rules & other land Assembly Tools.
- Land Pooling Schemes and matters thereof.
- Formation of State Capital Region Development Fund.
- Constitution & Regulations related to conduct of DP & BP Committee.
- Committee on Empanelled Professionals-Town Planners & Structural Engineers.
- Regulations on Registration of Builders.
- Guidelines and Committee on Empanelment of External Experts.
Major projects dealt:
- BDA Planning and Building Standards Regulations, 2018
The branch will deal with matters related to the overall Urban Transport systems in BDPA to ensure development of sustainable Urban Public Transport. It also ensures land use Transport linkages take place seamlessly with Development Plans.
Initiatives under Transportation Sector for Bhubaneswar
Inter-State Bus Terminal at Baramunda:
This project has been taken up as a first step to create a world class transit infrastructure in the city which can act as complementary to lots of other initiatives in the transport sector, including modernization of city buses. Presently, Baramunda Bus terminal is functioning as the biggest bus terminal in the city with an area of 15.5 acre used for both interstate & intercity bus operations. Daily almost 800 (approx.) buses operate from this terminal. Proposed design can accommodate 2,000 (approx.) buses on daily basis. 20,000 sq. m. space shall be created for commercial development.
Transit Oriented Development (TOD ):
Activity-wise Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan is under preparation for the proposed Transit Corridors in the CDP and ZDPs. The TOD Plan will have the following specific objectives:
- Preparation of corridor-wide TOD Strategy.
- Preparation of Transit Detailed Project Report.
- Integration of non-motorized transportation (NMT) infrastructure with Transit station designs and adjoining TOD station area.
- Integration of development control Regulations and Zonal Development Plans with TOD principles.
Truck Terminal/Transport Nagar Project:
Draft proposal for developing a truck terminal/transport nagar is under preparation for proper halting of heavy vehicles and decongestion of city traffic.
Complete Street Project:
- BDA has prepared Street Design Guidelines for Bhubaneswar to ensure coherence in the street designs and currently, these guidelines are being approved by Works Dept. Government of Odisha.
- These street design guidelines shall not only ensure better distribution of road space to all user groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, motor vehicles but also shall ensure planned integration of underground/over ground utilities, signage, bus shelters, etc. BDA has identified total 120 km road network out of which 40 km priority road network is identified for implementing the complete street design in phase 1.
- Out of this 40 km network, Janpath streetscape of 5.5 km is being implemented by BSCL under smart city project and sachivalaya marg streetscape of 9.5 km length is being implemented by Works dept. Bidyut marg streetscape design for 5.5 km is completed and is to be taken up for implementation. BDA has prepared designs for these streetscapes through its extended technical wing - Bhubaneswar urban knowledge centre (BUKC).
- In addition to these efforts, in order to promote cycling and walking in the city, BDA has identified NMT network in Bhubaneswar and cycle tracks are being developed on the 40 km priority road network.
- As a part of complete street principles to promote the use of public transport, BDA along with BPTS (CRUT) is in the process of finalising the Bus routes for city's bus services which is being modernised and being equipped with 200 new buses.
Partnership with WRI, India:
An MoU has been signed between BDA and WRI where WRI shall be providing technical assistance to BDA for transportation and urban planning related activities for Bhubaneswar.
E-Vehicle Policy:
Market assessment study for pilot implementation of e-vehicles is under process.
