Metropolitan Planning Committee

Also called: Article 243ZE · Topic: Urban Local Government: Municipalities and Cities · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) is a body that the Constitution requires in every metropolitan area. A metropolitan area is a city region with a population of ten lakh or more. The MPC prepares a draft development plan for the whole region and sends it to the state government [1]. It matters because big city regions now spread across many municipalities and panchayats. The MPC is the Constitution's way of letting local elected bodies plan that whole region together, from the bottom up.

Explanation

What counts as a "metropolitan area"

• Article 243P(c) defines a metropolitan area as one that:
• has a population of ten lakh (1 million) or more;
• lies in one or more districts;
• has two or more municipalities, panchayats or other connected areas;

• is declared by the Governor through a public notification (an official notice in the state's gazette) [1].

• Why it is needed: roads, water, drainage and pollution do not stop at a city's boundary. Each municipality or panchayat plans only for its own area, so a body has to plan for the whole region.

Who sits on the MPC

• At least two-thirds of the members are elected by and from:
• the elected members of the municipalities in the area; and

• the chairpersons of the panchayats in the area.

• How the seats are shared: in proportion to the municipal and panchayat populations of the area. A region where most people live in towns gets more municipal members.

• The remaining one-third or less: state law decides this part. It may add representatives of:
• the Union government;
• the state government;

• other bodies, such as water or transport agencies.

• State law also decides how the chairperson is chosen and what the committee's other functions are.

What the draft plan must consider (Art. 243ZE(3))

• the plans already made by the municipalities and panchayats in the area;
• matters of common interest, such as:
• coordinated spatial planning (deciding together which land is used for what);
• sharing of water and other physical and natural resources;
• integrated development of infrastructure;

• environmental conservation;

• the goals and priorities set by the Union and the state government;

• the investments that Union and state agencies are likely to make in the area.

Limits on its power

• It only drafts the plan. The MPC does not make the final plan.
• Final step: the MPC chairperson sends the draft plan to the state government, which decides.
• Its make-up depends on the state. Apart from the two-thirds elected share, the state legislature shapes the MPC, so its real strength varies from state to state.

In the Constitution and practice

• Where it sits: Article 243ZE, in Part IXA (the Part on municipalities). It was added by the 74th Constitutional Amendment (1992), which came into force on 1 June 1993.
• Its twin body: the same amendment created the District Planning Committee (DPC) under Art. 243ZD. Together, the two bodies are meant to give India bottom-up planning: local plans are joined at a higher level instead of being handed down from the state capital.
• How it works in practice: weak and often missing
• Few MPCs work. Kolkata's MPC (set up in 2001) is the usual example of one that functions.
• CAG audit of Uttar Pradesh (2024): DPCs and MPCs were not set up as the law requires, no meetings were held, and no draft plans were prepared [3].

• Second Administrative Reforms Commission: it was set up on 31 August 2005 under M. Veerappa Moily [2]. Its 6th Report, Local Governance (2007), makes recommendations on MPCs (paras 3.10.2.8 and 4.5.5.6) [2].

• Who really plans big cities: parastatals

• Parastatals are state-created bodies that work outside the elected municipality. Examples are DDA (Delhi Development Authority, 1957), MMRDA (Mumbai, 1975), BDA (Bengaluru) and HMDA (Hyderabad).
• They make master plans (long-term land-use plans for a city) under state Town and Country Planning Acts.

• As a result, both the elected municipality and the MPC are pushed aside.

• Weak planning capacity: NITI Aayog report (September 2021)

• 65% of India's 7,933 urban settlements have no master plan [4][6].
• India has about 5,000 registered town planners, roughly one for every 75,000 urban residents [4][6]. It needs 12,213, a gap of 8,268 posts [4].

• The report proposes a "500 Healthy Cities Programme" run for 5 years, a statutory National Council of Town and Country Planners, and a National Digital Platform of Town and Country Planners [4][5].

• Recent case: Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 (Karnataka)

• Introduced on 23 July 2024. It allows up to seven city corporations [7].
• It creates a Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), chaired by the Chief Minister, as the planning authority for the region [7].
• It also sets up a separate Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee, also chaired by the Chief Minister [7].
• The legislature passed it on 10 March 2025, and the Governor returned it for reconsideration [7]. Its later status should be checked.

Don't confuse with

• District Planning Committee (Art. 243ZD): it is set up in every district, and at least four-fifths of its members are elected by members of the zila parishad and the municipalities. The MPC exists only in metropolitan areas, needs only two-thirds elected members, and those members are chosen by municipal members and panchayat chairpersons.
• Development authorities such as DDA (1957) and MMRDA (1975): these are parastatals created by state law, and they are not answerable to local voters. The MPC is a constitutional body with a mostly elected membership.
• Greater Bengaluru Authority: it is a state-law apex authority headed by the Chief Minister that makes the region's infrastructure master plan [7]. It is not the constitutional MPC, though the same Bill also creates an MPC [7].
• Part IX (73rd Amendment): this Part covers panchayats. The MPC is in Part IXA (74th Amendment), even though panchayats in the region also take part in it.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 243ZE → MPC; Art. 243ZD → DPC; Art. 243P(c) → definition of "metropolitan area" (population of 10 lakh or more, declared by the Governor by public notification) [1].
• Elected share: MPC at least two-thirds; DPC at least four-fifths. Do not swap them.
• MPC electors: elected municipal members and panchayat chairpersons. Seats are shared by the municipal–panchayat population ratio.
• The MPC prepares only a draft plan. Its chairperson sends it to the state government.
• Trap: the MPC was created by the 74th Amendment (1992) and sits in Part IXA, not in Part IX.
• Kolkata MPC (2001) is the usual example of a working MPC. DDA and MMRDA are parastatals, not constitutional bodies.

Mains Points

• Constitutional promise vs practice:
• Art. 243ZE promises integrated, bottom-up planning for city regions.
• In practice, most MPCs are missing or inactive. The 2024 CAG audit of Uttar Pradesh found no meetings and no draft plans [3].

• So planning stays with state departments and parastatals, which weakens the spirit of the 74th Amendment.

• Parastatals vs MPCs, and the capacity gap:

• Bodies like DDA and MMRDA control land and money but do not answer to local voters.
• Possible reforms: give MPCs real power, make parastatal plans subject to MPC approval, and give MPCs their own planning staff.

• Reform also needs more planners. With 65% of towns lacking a master plan and about 8,268 planner posts short, NITI Aayog links planning reform to building capacity [4][5].

• Who should plan the region:

• Bengaluru's 2024–25 model puts the Chief Minister at the head of both the GBA and the MPC [7].
• This shows a trade-off. Quick coordination of a large city region is one goal. Local democracy (decisions made by elected local representatives), which Art. 243ZE intends, is the other.

Related concepts

• District Planning Committee

Read more

• Planning the district and the metropolis: DPC and MPC