Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-division and illegal occupation of urban land. Unregulated and regulated pressure on land has largely been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban planning and development remains land based/ land focused, based on a strategy of sub-division of the land, dictated by the economic forces prevailing in the market. Irrational and ineffective public policies of urban planning and land sub-division, devoid of prevailing ground realities, have turned out to be incompatible with the demands of urban expansion, leading to large scale un-authorized and illegal sub-division of land. In the process, valuable land resources, gift of nature, has been misused, abused and mutilated in this race of uncontrolled and irrational urbanisation. In order to make optimum use of land resource; making city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational. realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and essential, that all urban centres are made to focus on eliminating the culture and practices promoting un-authorized/illegal sub-division of land for ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the country.

1. Rationalizing the Planned Growth of Urban India through
Regulating the Sub-division of Urban Land
*Jit Kumar Gupta;
** jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
Land is globally valued, for providing platform for all human driven activities,
based on living, working, culture of body/ mind and travel. Limited
availability, coupled with large number of human beings trying to source
land, has invariably created large demand for land resource for human
consumption. Land, in urban context, is required for meeting the specific
needs of urban dwellers for residential, commercial, institutional,
recreational, travel& traffic purposes besides providing space for
infrastructures , amenities, services, trade and commerce etc. Land in urban
areas remains under large demand and , command high price due to
concentration of large population in small physical area, with stakeholders
making competing claims.
All planning instruments including Master Plan, Development Plans, Zonal
Plans, Local Area Plans, invariably address and focus on optimum and
rational use of land involving its planning for promoting planned , orderly and
rational development of cities and towns. All these planning tools primarily
include, defining the use to which land in urban areas shall be permitted;
regulating the sub-division of land, based on the defined infrastructures
norms and standards, besides prescribing the development
parameters which will regulate construction to be made on the sub-divided
parcels of land . All urban areas also put in place competent authorities
, operating under a legal framework, for permitting, sanctioning and
approving the planning of the area, sub-division of land and making provision
of physical, social, hard and soft infrastructures in the given area.
Mechanism of licensing is often used by large number of cities/states to
permit private promoters/ developers, to source land, sub-divide land into

2. different parcels by preparing a lay-out plan , making provision/indicating the
position of roads, water supply, sewerage, drainage, electricity, landscaping,
solid waste management, waterworks, electric grid stations and sewerage
treatment plants besides defining space for institutions related to healthcare,
education, leisure, open spaces, community centres, shopping etc.
Sub-division of land carried out, after obtaining defined sanctions, makes
the development planned and legal, whereas any sub-division/development,
which does not follow the defined system, even when planned, is known to
be illegal and unauthorized development. Unauthorized development
invariably involves sub-division and use of land, made without getting
approval from the competent authority. However, looking at the prevailing
system, obtaining approvals of competent authorities remains highly
cumbersome, resource- intensive and time consuming operation. Process of
approval invariably involves considerable time, money and delays. Large
number of documentations and technical reports required; legal formalities
to be completed and number of bank guarantees to be provided, makes the
entire approval process costly and cumbersome. This acts as a deterrent to
developers to go for approvals from statutory authorities. Accordingly,
majority of sub-division of land and physical development taking place in the
urban areas, remains both illegal and unauthorized. Illegal subdivision of
land is known and accepted as integral/essential part of urban development
process existing in developing economies. Such unauthorized sub-division
of land defeats the basic/very purpose of urban planning and
planned physical development, which focuses on improving/promoting the
welfare of the people & communities by creating convenient, equitable,
healthy & efficient sustainable environment.
Triad comprising of three actors/players are said to operate and regulate the
domain of legal/illegal sub-division of land, which include the Seller
(landowner, developer/promoter,) Purchaser/buyer of the sub-divided land
parcel and Competent Authority involved in approving the sub-division of
land. In case of legal sub-division all three actors remain actively involved,
whereas in the case of illegal sub-division only Seller and Buyers are
involved to the exclusion of the Competent Authority. Sub-division of land
has number of variants involving different options. Illegal sub-division is
invariably carried out by private developers, landowners etc. Land, major
component used for sub-division in such cases, is sourced either by buying
or by illegally using/occupying/encroaching upon land owned by others .

3. In majority of cases, involving unplanned, unauthorized and illegal
development, it has been observed that Seller purchases/sources
agricultural land from the land owners/farmers, located generally in the peri-
urban areas or on the fringe of the city, (which is comparatively
cheaper); sub-divide the land into small plots/parcels and sell such parcels
to the perspective buyers, who desperately need land to construct houses
etc. In addition, culture of illegal subdivisions is also promoted by
unscrupulous land developers who are often in league with elected and
appointed government officials, including the police. With the protection,
active support and involvement of officials, developers occupy government
land and sub-divide it for commercial, residential uses etc. Plots in such
colonies are sold at discounted prices, prevailing in the market with no
provision of the services. Assurance to families against eviction is generally
provided by developers, using political connections including bribing the
officials
Such sub-division generally defies all norms and standards with large area
provided under plots and only small area made available under roads , open
spaces , basic amenities and services. Logic and rationale for providing large
area under plots is to maximize profit from the sub-division of land. Such
development, being unauthorized and illegal , invariably land the buyers into
trouble because of the illegal nature of development. In such areas, basic
amenities and services remain conspicuous by their absence. Prevailing
quality of life has been found to be always of lower order. Non-approval of
building plans by urban local bodies leads to large scale unauthorized
construction taking place on the illegal sub-divided land. People,
communities and cities continue to suffer in such kind of illegal and
unauthorized sub-division/development of land, due to lack/absence
of basic infrastructures, with little attention paid to health, eduction,
recreation, open spaces and fire safety considerations. Once these illegal
settlements grow in size with number of houses constructed,
residents supported by developers/promoters usually create an association/
resident's association for lobbying with government agencies to provide
services and for fighting/protection against any order of
dislocation/demolition of the colony and even for filing court cases. Basic
essential services such as electricity connections are often illegally tapped
from existing government infrastructure. The housing conditions in these
settlements are often better than in squatter settlements because the
perception of secure tenure is higher. Studies made and analysis carried out
of such colonies have shown that after the lapse of a period of ten to fifteen

4. year, such settlements also showcase the presence of lower middle class
families who were unable to afford housing elsewhere in the urban market (
Urbepedia).
In addition to above patterns , there exists another form of illegal sub-division
of land which generally takes place on the land belonging to and owned by
government/parastatal agencies, which is not properly protected and
safeguarded. Sub-division of land in such development is started by dwellers
themselves with the tactical/active support of the corrupt elected and
appointed government officials, Derelict/low lying and marginalized land
parcels come under large scale illegal sub-division, giving rise to slums and
squatter settlements. Unprotected/ disputed urban land, are also known to
be subjected to illegal sub-division in urban areas. Sub-division of land in
such areas is based on the initiative taken up by the slum dwellers
themselves. This kind of illegal sub-division remains totally against the spirit
of rational development . It has also been rated as the worst pattern
of development which can only happen in cities/towns and have been called
the breeding ground of majority of urban ills. Slums have also been called
the shadow of urbanization, devoid of basic norms and standards of sub-
division and provision of essential amenities/services.
Genesis of illegal sub-division of land
Genesis for such illegal sub-division of urban land have roots in massive
urbanization; rapid migration; high prevailing cost of urban land; speculation;
limited capacity and limited supply of developed land by the development
authorities; widening gap between demand and supply; prevailing poverty;
lack of financial resources/capacity to buy legal land; cumbersome
procedures, processes , rules and regulations, created to provide sanctions
for sub-division of land etc.
Studies made globally in developing economies, have revealed that the
entire context of illegal and unauthorized sub-division of urban land involves
and revolves around;
 Massive Urbanization, uncontrolled migration and rapid urban
growth leading to uncontrolled expansion of urban areas and large
demand for land.
 Urban areas becoming engines of economic growth, generating large
proportion of wealth and employment

5.  Ever widening gap between demand and supply of developed land
parcels.
 Lack of capacity of parastatal agencies to provide developed plots at
affordable price
 Inefficient land market, high land prices and prevailing culture of land
speculation.
 Making urban land as an investment, yielding quick and large
dividends.
 Poor land related record and outdated land related legal framework.
 Emerging nexus existing between unscrupulous land developers,
government officials.
 Lack of adequate manpower , resources and will on the part
of agencies involved in the approval/regulation of sub-division of
land.
 Absence of Master plans/ Development Plans and other planning
tools to regulate the sub-division of land and ineffective
implementation
 Poor implementation of development plans Low
priority/marginalizing the role and importance of planned development
 Limited availability of manpower in planning and managing the
cities besides existence of large number of vacancies in town
planning cadre
 Divorcing plan preparation from plan implementation
 Multiplicity of agencies operating at local level in the domain of urban
planning and sub-division of land; often working at cross purposes
 Multiplicity of building bye-laws and zoning regulation regulating the
sub-division and use of land.
 Low order of punishment for illegal and unauthorized sub-division of
land.
 Active involvement of the politicians/elected representatives in the
democratic set up at local/state level.
 Periodic regularization of unauthorized construction policies framed
and made operational by successive governments .
 Treating conversion of unauthorized/illegal sub-division of land as a
part of vote bank policy and generating revenue for resource starved
governments.
 High prevailing price of plots sold by development agencies and lack
of capacity/ resources to secure high priced land of majority of urban
residents.

6.  Cumbersome procedures, processes , delays, corruption, stringent
rules/ regulations defined for granting sanctions for sub-division of
land.
 Marginalizing the role and importance of urban local bodies in
promoting planned development and eliminating unauthorized sub-
division of land.
Outcomes of the illegal sub-division of land
 Creating a culture of unregulated urban growth and development
 Rapid unplanned, haphazard and sub-standard development of urban
areas.
 Mushroom growth of the squatter settlements and slums
 Poor quality of life for majority of urban residents
 High physical, social and environmental and health related cost.
 Creation of large urban related issues and problems.
 Promoting operational inefficiency and adversely impacting urban
environment/ productivity.
 Absence/inadequate availability of basic infrastructure
 Absence/limited availability of open spaces, parks etc.
 Inadequate space under roads and open spaces
 High degree of traffic problems; Lack of parking space.
 Absence of space for education and healthcare institutions.
 Inadequate space for laying services like water supply, sanitation etc.
 Congestion of buildings on land and congestion of people in buildings.
 Crating enormous financial labilities for urban local bodies
 Perpetual loss of financial resources and revenue generation for urban
agencies.
 Residents suffering from sick building syndrome due to haphazard
and un-planned development.
 Making cities unsafe- Cities remaining prone and vulnerable to
various natural and manmade disasters.
 Cities suffering from health related issues due to pandemics like
Covid-19 etc
 Cities and communities becoming victim to large scale crime.

7. Options to minimize illegal sub-division of land
 Creating a rational , effective, efficient , supportive and simplified policy
framework for promoting legal sub-division of land for putting an end to
illegal sub-division of land.
 Making illegal sub-division of land a cognizable offence attracting
both major imprisonment and heavy fines to act as deterrent to
promoters for such illegal activities.
 Creating a culture for planned development in urban areas by
involving land owners and developers.
 Putting in place effective and efficient planning tools of master
plans/development plans for promoting, guiding and regulating
the orderly and rational growth of urban areas.
 Reviewing, revising and re-defining the framework, intent, content
and scope of planning tools to make them operationally efficient and
promoters of legal sub-division of land.
 Simplifying and making the framework providing for sub-division of
land user- friendly.
 Creating a single window system for granting permission for land use.
 Making the entire process transparent, effective and efficient,
adopting process of online permissions.
 Digitizing the urban land ownership record and making it available in
the public domain.
 Making purchaser of illegal sub-divided plot/land, also accountable
and liable for punishment in addition to seller.
 Creating awareness among developers and promoters regarding the
need for eliminating the illegal sub-division of land.
 Incentivizing the legal sub- division and dis-incentivizing the illegal
sub-division of land.
 Imposing penalties and recovering all development charges from the
developers/occupants for providing deficient services.
 Putting an end to policies of regularizing the illegal sub-division of
land.
 Protecting, preserving and safeguarding all government lands from
possible encroachments by documenting and putting signages
indicating the ownership of properties.
 Providing in public domain details of all the colonies approved by the
competent authority.

8.  Sub-dividing the city in distinct development zones, to be manned by
dedicated manpower, also made personally responsible/accountable
for any unauthorized/illegal sub-division of land/ construction.
 Prohibiting registration of any illegally sub-divided land by the
registering authorities and seeking no-objection certificate from the
defined authority before registration of any sub-divided land.
 Putting in public domain the details of illegal sub-division of
land recorded in the city.
 Taking all possible measures to prevent the unauthorized splitting of
plots of land for sale and illegal construction
 Educating and involving political leadership in creating a supporti
environment/culture of planned development and rational sub-
division of land.
 Creating a dedicated cell Creating a dedicate cell at local level to
guide, inform and educate the perspective buyers regarding the status
and details of the intended plot.
 Copies of the approved plans of colonies along with the details of
developers and location/details of the land and size of land
parcel, should be placed and made available in the public domain by
creating a dedicated portal
 Creating options for having quality leadership at local level, to guide
and regulate the urban development process and land sub-division.
 Imparting training, on regular basis, to all the officials and the elected
representatives in the domain of urban planning for rationalizing the
sub-division of land.
 Involving private sector on large scale to increase the supply of
serviced plots based on approved sub-division of land to bridge
the existing gap between demand and supply.
Conclusion
Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban
areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on
land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-
division and occupation of urban land. This pressure on land has largely
been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development
of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban
planning and development remains land based/ land focused, based on a
strategy of sub-division of the land, dictated by the economic forces

9. prevailing in the market. Irrational and ineffective public policies of urban
planning and land sub-division, devoid of prevailing ground realities, have
turned out to be incompatible with the demands of urban expansion, leading
to large scale un-authorized and illegal sub-division of land. In order to make
city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational.
realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and
essential, that all urban centres are made to focus on eliminating the culture
and practices promoting un-authorized/illegal sub-division of land for
ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the
country.