agra in transition- globalization and challenges

7/25/2019 Agra in Transition- Globalization and Challenges

1/16

City in Transition: Reorganization of Space, and

Planning Policy in Agra

Dr. Kapil Kumar GavskerDepartment of Applied Geography

Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha (ndia!

"mail# gavsker$%gmail&com

Abstract

Agra city with its great historic importance is now in transition since local and glo'al forces

affecting ur'an landscape& ew ur'an development change is influenced 'y its glo'al connectivity as the

home of the )orld *eritage +ite and a growing importance in the regional and national ur'an system& Cityspace is 'eing shaped 'y conventional ur'an planning which emphasies upon physical land use

segregation& ow neoli'eral effects are also visi'le in the present ur'an policy and (heritage! planning& n

fact, planning in Agra appears to have capitalied on one historical 'uilt monument- the .a/- 'ut in theprocess ignored the other aspects in ur'an development& .he going 0glo'al1 has appropriated the local (.a/

2ahal!, 'ut locals seems to have 'een left out in this process&

Keywords: City, *eritage, .ransition, .ourism, Ur'an 3lanning, Ur'an +pace

Introduction

)ith emergence of modernist planning in the western ur'an situation, cities

'ecame prime concern of adopting measures to com'at various ur'an and regionalpro'lems& Geography and space is interlinked and one is incomplete without the other&

.here are two main types of 0geographical planning1- physical planning and economic

planning& .he former is concerned with physical developments such ur'an renewal, ur'anplanning and land use, whereas the latter is concerned with spatial aspects of economic

development& 4oth of these also shapes ur'an environment& Controlling unplanned ur'an

growth measures were taken to segregate land uses through rationaliation of space andplanned city and regional development& Dominance of town planning was undou'tedly

strong and professionally it was 'elieved to 'e universally applica'le irrespective of

cultural conte5t and comple5 social geographies& )hat was recognied was that well

organied and physically coherent cities grounded in the good functional and aestheticprinciples are 'etter than those are not (4eauregard 6778# 97:!& )ith the passage of time

and e5periments with newly accepted ideas, master plans 'ased development 'ecame a

common practice to cope with and dealing with haphaard ur'an growth, ur'ane5pansion and growing internal pro'lems of cities& )ith this, ur'an areas are spatially

controlled and oning directs the future growth and e5pansion of cities& ;or long, 2aster

3lan approach has remained a common practice not only in the west 'ut same is e


2/16

planning is an activity, process and a tool for reorganiation of space 'y which it shapes

lives of those who inha'it ur'an space&

;or long ur'an planning had usually 'een a technical e5pert-driven e5ercise,which drew on e5isting official data and had little connection with (real! environment for

which it is 'eing prepared& Often, a technically prepared plan was a mismatch with the

local government1s will and financial capacity to implement it effectively within thestipulated time period& .his mismatch happens when plans did not reflect the ground

realities and for which the local populations felt no ownership (+heikh and Rao 677=#

>?$!& .herefore, planning of land use in any country and city is a recognied feature ofcommunity life and pu'lic control& @and use is a 'etter mechanism for use of land at

present and in the future& As per planning, certain activities and functions would take

place only in prescri'ed areas without an overlap and any sort of interruption&

Reorganiing of ur'an space aims at segregation of one activity area in relation to otheri&e& residential areas from manufacturing and high industries& *owever, these

conventional approaches are under critical scrutinies in the west where they first came

into e5istence and are replaced 'y new ur'an strategies and planning methods& Ur'an

development approaches in ndia are still conventional 'ased on 0'lue print1 planningwhich remains infle5i'le and rigid& deology, practice and process of ur'an planning in

ndia has remained largely technocratic influenced 'y spatial fetishism and a top-downapproach& .his undermines different needs of diverse segments of ur'an population and

in dealing with intra-ur'an ine


3/16

4aro


4/16

reduce population growth in the city& According to one view in ndia emphasie is given

to physical plan without including goals, o'/ectives, and policies& n the United +tates,

emphasie is given to policy plan which includes goals, o'/ectives and policies and dealswith physical plan on the 'asis of the policy plan& Actually, physical plan should 'e

supported 'y policy plan (Das op& cit =$-=>!&

#ew Developments

)ith more or less inade


5/16

ordinances- 2ussoorie and ainital towns (now in Uttarakhand!& @ater, Act F of 9B?B

@ucknow 2unicipal Act 9B?$ U&3& )ater )orks Act, 9B:: U&3& +ewerage and Drainage

Act, 9B:$ and U&3& 2unicipalities Act 9:77& .he United 3rovinces .own Area Act, 9:9$can 'e seen as a 'eginning for town planning and comprehensive city development& Uttar

3radesh Ur'an 3lanning and Development Act, 9:=8 enacted 'y the @egislative Council

(9:=B! aimed at controlling haphaard ur'an growth and setting a direction for futuregrowth& .his Act e5tends to the whole of Uttar 3radesh e5cluding Cantonment areas and

lands owned, re

population of Agra city is directly or indirectly earning their livelihood through shoe-

making industry& Agra is now the most populous and fastest growing city of Uttar

3radesh& t has a population of 9&? million (Census 6799! of which more than >7 areestimated to live in low-income settlements where water is in short supply, electricity is

sporadic and livelihoods are haphaard& Agra 2unicipal Corporation is su'divided into

ninety electoral wards& )ith this city has e5perienced many spatial changes in its ur'anspace& +ince the 2edieval to the 4ritish and then post-independence period, city

remained as the melting pot of diverse social and cultural milieu& f city is viewed from

the 0morphological1 angle, the 'aaar or the central 'usiness district is located in the oldpart around the fort accommodates different types of central functions& @iving conditions

>


6/16

in inner city are highly apprehensive as a result of increasing concentration of population

and economic activities (4edi 6777!& 4eing esta'lished during the medieval period, the

city still retains narrow roads and streets that cause congestion in different mohallas&+patial organiation of the city includes old areas 'uilt during the 2ughals a new ur'an

one produced 'y the coloniers occupied, and the construction and growth of the new

city with influ5 of population& "ach of these spaces have their own distinct everyday life,social character and functional organiation& +helter and housing was considered as one

of the acute pro'lems in the city&

.a'le 9 3opulation Growth in Agra 2etropolitan City

!nit (omponent Population and Decadal Growth 'ate

Ara

$unicipal

(orporation

)*+) )*,) )*-) )*) )**) /00) /0))

3opulation 888,>87 $?6,767 >:9,:9= ?:$,9:9 :$B,7?8 9,6=>,98$ 9,>=?,98B

Growth (! 6:&>: 8B&>6 6B&99 9=&6= 8?&>= 8$&$: 68&?9

Density - =$=? :>?8 >>?8 ?:8? :7$8 999=B

Area (s ->&8= 9:&?B -89&=6 -9$&:9

"wamibah 3opulation - 9,697 9,887 9,$88 9,?$= 9,:99 6,78:

Growth (! - - :&B6 =&=$ 9$&:8 9?&78 ?&?:

(antonment 3opulation $6,98> $9,8$7 8=,7=$ $=,?6$ $:,=>> >7,:?B >8,7>8

Growth (! >=&88 -9&B: -97&86 6B&$? $&$ 6&$$ $&7:

+ource# .rends in Ur'an 3opulation in Agra, .he 2aster 3lan 6779-6769, H Census of ndia 6779 H 6799,

.o com'at these ur'an pro'lems, state constituted Agra Development Authority in9:=$& t functions under Uttar 3radesh Ur'an 3lanning H Development Act, 9:=8& .he

first 2aster 3lan (for 6779! for the city was prepared 'y the department of .own andCountry 3lanning and Agra 2unicipality and approved 'y the Government in Iuly, 9:=>&

Afterwards the focus of the authority remained to shape growth of city& 3lan envisaged

the e5isting and present structures to 'e improved and future development will not affect

them& )ith the realiation that the centre of the city is congested and crowded city wasdirected to grow out in the north, north-western and south-east direction& .he river

amuna on the eastern side imposed geographical constraint&

;irst master plan had seven categories of land use# residential, commercial,

community facilities, governmental use, industries, open place and transport& 2aster 3lanwas influenced 'y the Jdynapolis theoryK which states a city is to grow out in the

para'olic manner along the main transport corridors& 4ased on morphology and future

ur'an growth, whole city was divided into two ones& Lone (red patch! included parts ofthe old city, the 'uilt up area during 2ughals "ra and the Colonial periods& .he Jcentral

functionsK of the city were classified such as industries, commercial, community

facilities, government offices etc& .he e5isting polluting industries (i&e& foundries andpethamanufacturing units! were allocated space in the Lone ('lue patch!& +hifting their

?


7/16

locations was planned on the fringe areas# the .rans-amuna river areas on the west of

Agra-Aligarh road south of Agra-Eanpur road and along the Agra-2athura road& ew

residential developments were planned in the north, western, southern fringe areas andoff to .rans-amuna area& n addition, land use onal regulations with the development

controls were put into practice and authorities were to enforce them effectively& Lone

aimed at segregation of land use, land development and controlled future growth (2aster3lan 6779!& .his one was further su'-divided into two su' ones# one (a! covering

only ur'an or ur'ania'le area, and ('! the areas consisting of rural areas or village

avadis surrounded 'y a green 'elts& n su'-Lone (a! ma/or ur'an functions proposedwere# mi5ed functions sectoral functions consisting of Residential areas and central

functions of lower order and central functions of higher and lower order& ;igure 9 shows

land use pattern as presented in the first 2aster 3lan of the city&

;igure 9 Agra City 2aster 3lan, 9:=9-6779

+ource# Agra 2aster 3lan, 9:=9-6779

.his was the first attempt to direct city growth& 4y 9:=9, the population of AgraUr'an Agglomeration was ?&8$ lakh and on the 'asis of past growth trends population for

6779 was estimated to 'e 96 lakh& .a'le 6 shows, for the future ur'an growth of the city a

total B8?7 hact& land was estimated to 'e used for different re


8/16

;or Cantonment area, a cantonment 'oard was set up for providing 'asic

amenities, facilities and infrastructure and planned ur'an growth and maintenance of 'uilt

environment& f one compare with the e5isting land use ratio in 6779, as shown in .a'le8, it reveals the limited role of land use policy in planned growth of the city& .he

residential proposed land use for 6779, had crossed more than si5ty percent& t shows that

city grew rapidly with the natural growth of city population in-migration& Commercial,community facility, transport and industrial land ratio could not meet the proposed

estimations of planning& Official purpose land use crossed its estimated share& Concept of

open space could not take place in congested ones of the city as per the planning policy&

.a'le 6 Agra City 3roposed @and Use for 9:=9-6779 (Area in *ectares!

"l

#o. 1and use

2one )

345istin 6 percentae

2one /

Proposed 1and !se percentae

9 Residential 99$B $9&?? 86>$ 8:&7

6 ndustrial 66:&? 97&9B 97$7 96&$

8 Central ;unctions 8$$&$ 96&$: 877 8&>$ .ransport 9=6&$ ?&6> 96>$ 9>&77

> 3arks 8=8&9 98&>$ 9777 96&79

? Community ;acilities - - 96>6 9>&79

= Government Office 9=6&$ ?&6> ?7 7&=

B Commerce 99$&? $&9> - -

: Facant @and 677&: =&6: - -

97 Other - - 677 6&$

)) Developed Area /-++.7 8,0

+ource# 2aster 3lan 9:=9-6779, Agra Development Authority

.ransport facility couldn1t take place with increasing population and growing

mo'ility in the city& 3opulation of city has 'een growing steadily& )ith estimated ur'anpopulation 'y 6779, plan figured out a'out 96&6 million houses were needed in Agra city

in future& Due to loopholes in pu'lic policy and institutional hindrances, housing supplywas affected that led to growth in slums and poor houses& .he current ur'an form shows

that city has grown more in the north and around the core of the city, southward and in

.rans-amuna areas 'y easy accessi'ility through flyovers and 'ridges over amunaRiver& .he second 2aster 3lan is a long perspective plan for 67 years starting from 6779

to 6769& nstead of the two ones demarcated in the first plan, the second plan divides

Agra 2etropolitan Area into seven development ones& @and use 'reak up for these ones

is shown in the .a'le 8& 3lanners have pro/ected that 'y 6769 population of Agra citywould reach 6&6 million mark& 4y 6769, housing re?,$BB

units& 3lan now focuses on development and reutiliation of Jvacant landK or Junusedland useK of densely populated areas in effective manner for social purposes i&e& parksand community facilities& ;igure 6 shows the land use 'reak for 6779-6769& .his

perspective plan is in line with shifting priorities of ur'an governments from providers of

social goods and ur'an amenities to promoters of ur'an economic growth andinvestment& .his is phase of (neoli'eral! development where pu'lic sector is allowing

non-state actors in ur'an development and providing services to growing ur'an

population& "ven the international development cooperation and funding institutions like

B


9/16

the U"+CO and the U+AD do influence local development& *owever, intra-city or

ward level ine


10/16

.a'le > shows onal distri'ution of land use in Agra according to 2aster 3lan

6779-69& ;urther, the medium density (877 persons per hectare! residential areas will

come up in one and & @ow density residential areas are proposed to come up in one, F, F and F& ew commercial activities are planned in outer ones than in the

central parts of the city& 3ollution free industries are directed to come up in one F and

F& *ere, the information technology, service and communication industries too areallocated land use& ew community facilities to 'e created in one and F&

Conservation of natural forest cover around .he .a/, up to >77 meter in circle is priority

for maintaining healthy environment in one F& As per onal planning, residential,commercial, industrial and recreational spaces will 'e developed in almost e Lone )ise @and Use 4reak-Up 6779-6769

1and !se

1and ;o

2one>

2one>I

2one>II

Residential ?&> )*./ 8$&B 7&7> 96&7 )7.* 96&8 ::68&B

Commercial 9?&= /8. 6=&8 - :&> )8., B&7 >$$&>

ndustrial 97&> )7. 66&8 $&> 9:&> )+.0 98&7 69?9&?

Recreational 7&76 8-. 9=&8 - 97&= )7., 9B&: B=>&$

Green'elt - 9 9?&8 >&: 8B&7 ,., 86&> $69&>

Other Uses 7&: 7.) 9?&8 $>&9 =&: ,., 9?&$ 67>$&9

+ource# After Agra 2aster 3lan 6779-6769

;igure 6 2ap +howing the 3lanning Region of Agra

+ource# Agra 2aster 3lan, 6779-6769

97


11/16

.he share of community facility, open or park space has 'een decreasing in land

use ratio over the years& .he salient features and o'/ectives of the present 2aster 3lan

are# controlling and directing the current unplanned growth 'y planning measuresholistic ad/ustment of different areas of the city provisions for residential and community

facilities to the various income groups a compati'le relationship 'etween social,

economic structure, and industrial and commercial areas guiding the private, pu'lic,semi-pu'lic institutions for implementation of the pro/ects and provision for roads and

highways for the current and the future areas to 'e developed& "5isting ur'an institutions

are 'eing restructured and new actors are coming forward and involved in ur'an planningand management of ur'an areas& Rowan "llis suggests, in the conte5t of neoli'eral

effects, Jolder structures of ur'an regulation and management have 'een replaced 'y a

regime of governance wherein multiple and various state, non-state and


12/16

(A+! retains authority of listing monuments and now a'out fifty plus monuments in Agra

falls under the purview of the 2onuments 3rotection Act& .hese are places of attraction

for 'oth domestic and foreign tourists& .a/ 2ahal, Agra ;ort, ;atehpur +ikri, tima-ud-Daula, Ak'ar1s .om', 2ariam1s .om', Ram 4agh and 2ehta' 4agh are Centrally

3rotected 2onuments (C32s! and heritage sites& Agra circle has three the )orld

*eritage +ites# .he .a/ 2ahal, Agra Red ;ort and ;atehpur +ikri& Compared to othersites, Agra is famous and well known across the world for the .a/ 2ahal with millions of

tourists annually visiting this magnificent mar'le monument, as shown in ;igure 8& As a

result, functional character of .a/gan/ space has changed to adaptto the needs of tourismand tourist facilities& 3arts of e5isting residential areas are converted into 'udget hotels,

cafes and emporiums all along the main road and land values got enhanced& Regulation of

tourism in .a/gan/ and consistent efforts to maintain a classic image of the area has

affected locals most- hawkers, vendors, thelewalas- whose su'sistence incomes wereassociated with arrival of tourists& .hus long term ur'an plan remains an important

instrument for guiding and regulating development of towns and cities over a period of

time, and contri'utes to planned development 'oth conceptually and operationally

(2eshram 677?# =!& @and use and its management 'ecomes the essential thing for theplanners& Restructuring of ur'an space leads changes in structure of economy and city&

Capital accumulation and change in 'uilt environment are more concerned with neweconomic reforms& Doing so, planners, architects of city design, and those they led along

with them in their 'eliefs are not consciously disdainful of the importance of knowing

how things work (Iaco's 6778# ?$!& nstead, they mostly focus on how cities 0ought1 towork and what 0ought1 to 'e good for people& ;ainstein (9::9! adds the connection

'etween the economic structure and planning legitimacy is now straightforwardly

claimed, and the tactics developed to stimulate economic growth are frankly enumerated

(3erry 6778# 9$:!& .a'le ? shows tourists at Agra and their flow to the particularmonuments and the historic .a/ 2ahal attracts more than half of them&

;igure 8 .he )orld *eritage +ite- .he .a/ 2ahal

96


13/16

.a'le ? .ourists Arrival to Agra 4uilt-*eritage

SN Monuments 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Agra Circle Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign Domestic Foreign

1 Taj Mahal2624085

(58.4)586105(47.7)

2635283(56.8)

591560(47.)

2585560(54.9)

491554(47.)

4087968(6.7)

621183(46.6)

4646203(62.8)

668903(49.6)

2 !gra Fort

1177133

(26.1)

357570

(29.1)

1289810

(27.8)

85697

(0.8)

1398890

(29.7)

314116

(0.2)

1417641

(22.1)

381479

(28.6)

1605432

(21.7)

306097

(22.7)

3 Fateh"#r $i%ri262083

(5.8)198589(16.2)

292483(6.)

191242(15.)

294316(6.)

159672(15.)

315420(4.9)

210450(15.8)

422450(5.7)

229091(17.0)

4 Akbars !omb304938

"6#8$42455"3#5$

293504"6#3$

40801"3#3$

300213"6#4$

35761"3#4$

409368"6#4$

52600"3#9$

443553"6#0$

57852"4#3$

5 Mariams !omb9435"0#2$

38"0#0$

12188"0#3$

103"0#0$

9937"0#2$

117"0#0$

18056"0#3$

236"0#0$

23880"0#3$

234"0#0$

6 %tima&u'&(aula62811"1#4$

39739"3#2$

64647"1#4$

39871"3#2$

63974"1#4$

33677"3#2$

79208"1#2$

55920"4#2$

117401"1#6$

62625"4#6$

7 )am *ag+34756"0#8$

284"0#0$

32209"0#7$

197"0#0$

27461"0#6$

162"0#0$

31689"0#5$

322"0#0$

41820"0#6$

307"0#0$

8 Me+tab *ag+17792"0#4$

4357"0#4$

20552"0#4$

1544"0#1$

26902"0#6$

5250"0#5$

59075"0#9$

10890"0#8$

98291"1#3$

22214"1#6$

Total 44940 122917 4640676 1251015 470725 104009 6418425 1080 79900 1472

+ource# ndia .ourism +tatistics 677:, 6797, 6799 .he 2inistry of .ourism, Government of ndia, ndia

ote# ;igures in parenthesis are in percentage (!

Group I ;he ?orld =eritae "ites-.a/ 2ahal, Red ;ort, and ;atehpur +ikri

Group II(entrally Protected $onuments# Ak'ar1s .om', 2ariam1s .om', tima-ud-Daula, Ram 4agh and 2ehta' 4agh

Group I 677= 677B 677: 6797 6799

Domestic :7&$ :7&: :7&: :7&= :7&6

;oreign :6&: :8&$ :6&B :9&: B:&$

Group II

Domestic :&? :&6 :&9 :&8 :&B

;oreign =&9 ?&? =&6 B&: 97&?

98


14/16

;urther, rationales and techni


15/16

and environmentally vulnera'le areas of the city& A'out $7 percent of the slum population

doses not have access to sanitation facility& 2ost of the pollution elements (air, water,

noise etc! have crossed the standard limits fi5ed 'y the concerned e5pert 'odies& .husenvironmental pollutions have 'een affecting the city life and ur'an poor in particular&

)ater 6 in 6779& ;or e5ample, in

trans-amuna area in a'sence of 2unicipal piped water connection and supply, theprimary source of drinking water in most of these localities of Agra is water supplied 'y

private tankers- known as tanker economy& n marginalied locations of the city likeagla Chhidda, Ra/nagar, agla *armukh and interior .a/gan/, women suffer more than

men& .he fact is, women are invaria'ly disadvantageous compared with men cities in

terms of e


16/16

one finds the distri'ution, allocation and location of different land uses reveal an inherent

order of space creation& +pace making is determined 'y the type of technocentric

approach and values planners practice& .his sort of planning process includes settingcommon o'/ectives in the pursuit of ur'an development and shaping intra-city ur'an

growth& *owever, land use 'ased planning rarely coincides with social ur'an planning

which need to focuses on effective delivery of civic amenities and 'asic services to thedifferent socio-economic groups like those who inha'it slums& +ince Agra has the world

heritage site and other monuments of national importance, local development is put

against glo'al aspirations of town planners and policy makers& 3lanning has to adopt aninclusive mechanism to a collective pu'lic or citiens involvement and support for

making Agra a sustaina'le ur'an ha'itat& .hough ur'an system in the state and country is

decentralied yet Agra faces crucial challenges# ine-867

+heikh, Ehati'ullah and +rinivas Rao (677=! J3articipatory City 3lanning in Chhattisgarh# A Civil +ociety

nitiativeK,&nvironment and Urbani(ation # >?8->B9

Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and )evelopment A%t, *+-

9?

agra in transition- globalization and challenges

Documents