Problems with Multiple Boundaries in a City

What is the issue?

Cities in India are characterised by multiple boundaries i.e., they are governed by multiple organisations and authorities which have their own jurisdictions.

What’s the problem with maze of boundaries?

• The governing authorities in a city include urban local bodies (ULBs) which does service delivery and planning for socio-economic development and are further divided into different wards.
• Large cities also have urban development authorities which in turn divide cities into various planning zones.
• Line departments, sewage disposal, safety and security organization are also done based on various zones.
• None of these zones is coterminus, and thus it generates whats called a ‘maze of boundaries’.
• This non-coterminus boundaries deter effective planning and good governance and could actually deter Smart Cities Mission too (which calls for appropriate local spatial development plans).
• Thus, the existing maze of boundaries needs to be revamped for more coherent and integrated planning and governance.

How it is exemplified in the case of Delhi?

• Until 2012, Delhi was governed by three municipal corporations. But, after 2012, the NCT is governed by five bodies.
• Also, the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021 identifies 15 planning zones.
• And the Delhi Police looks after the safety and security of 13 districts.
• The Delhi Traffic Police has divided the NCT into 11 districts, which are subdivided into 53 traffic circles.
• This multiple boundaries of jurisdictions and their spatial non-alignment further reinstates the problem of a ‘maze of boundaries’.

What can we learn from Singapore Model?

• A minimum organisational set-up was suggested to bring these multiple agencies on a common platform to determine a metropolitan-wide strategy for planning and implementation.
• In this context, Singapore, with its planning boundaries and smart urban development provides a good example.
• It comprise of 55 planning areas organised into five planning regions, namely, the central, west, north, north-east and east regions.
• The 2014 master plan retains the five planning regions and 55 areas which are further divided into smaller subzones.
• Also, since the implementation of these boundaries, all the other departments have also adopted them for their administrative purposes.
• Ex. The Singapore Police Force constituted the jurisdiction of its neighbourhood police centres based on these planning regions.
• Even for the administrative and electoral divisions, the earlier nine districts were replaced with five districts corresponding to the urban planning regions of the URA.
• Thus, the unified boundaries of the various forces in planning and coordinated efforts have contributed to the planned and smart urban development of Singapore.

Source: The Hindu