History of Town Planning in India

1. Indus Valley Civilisation

 In the Indo-Gangetic region.
 Excavations reveal that the cities had highly advanced system of
TP.
 Eg. In the city of Mohenjo-Daro,
9 m wide streets divided the city in 12 blocks.
 Layout of streets – ‘grid iron’ plan.
Houses varying sizes and storeys, brick walls.
Rooms arranged around central courtyard.
Max use of roof lighting and ventilation.
Bathing facilities attached to houses.
Effective underground drainage system with sewer lines and
manholes for inspection.
Markets, granaries, offices etc. planned.
 2. Vedic Period
 TP done on scientific footing; principles mentioned in sacred
books.
 In ‘Viswakarmaprakash’ – First layout the town, then the houses.
 ‘Mansara Silpasastra’ – study of soil, climate, topography,
orienting to get maximum sunlight and wind & laying out various
town plans.
 The main streets(Raja marga) aligned in E-W to get the roads
purifieed by sun’s rays, short roads along N-S.
 Importance of Sthapathi stressed.
 Epics brings out the neat planning of ancient cities like Ayodhya
and Indraprastha.
 3. Buddhist Period
 During the period of Chandragupta Maurya, Kautilya(his CM)
wrote the ‘Arthashastra’ which is a treatise in TP.
 It suggests zoning depending on communities, highways to have
grid iron pattern, main line with min 30 ft. width for 3 lane
traffic.
 Excavations in Pataliputra shows waste water collection system,
finally emptying to Ganga, in addition to grid iron road networks.
 Nalanda renouned for learning had stupas, temples and hostels for
monks; about 300 halls for accomodating more than 10,000
pupils; 9 storeyed libraries.
 3. Medieval Period

 There was gradual development of trade and commerce

which had resulted in improved planning of towns.
 Some famous towns are:
Dhaka (now in Bangladesh) - for Malmal.
Krishnanagar for Clay models.
Agra for marble and perfumery.
Murshidabad for silk.
Jaipur for splendid buildings of artistic excellence.
4. Moghul Period
 Cities like Agra, Delhi redeveloped.
 Planning of some important structures like Fatehpur
Sikri and Forts around Bijapur, Lucknow etc.
 Introduced gardens and parks.
Kabul Bagh at Panipat by Babar.
Shalimar Bagh or garden of bliss and Nishanth Bagh at
Kashmir by Shah Jahan.
Lal Bagh at Bangalore by Haider Ali.
5. Pre-independence period

 Due to unhealthy condition of existing cities, started

independent colonies at the outskirts of existing towns
called as ‘Barracks’ and ‘Cantonments’ for military and
‘civil lines’ for people.
 In street planning - straight roads regardless of cost.
 First decade of 20th century – building New Delhi
(1912-1930).
Master plan prepared by Edwin Lutyens (British
architect ), assisted by Herbert Baker.
 6. Post Independence Period
 Some of the towns planned during the period are:
1. Steel towns
1. Durgapur –W. Bengal
2. Bhilai - M. Pradesh
3. Rourkela – Orissa
2. Industrial Towns
1. Jamshedpur – Bihar
2. Chittaranjan –W. Bengal
3. Capitals
1. Gandhinagar – Gujarat
2. Chandigarh - Punjab
 Gandhi Nagar
 After bifurcation of Bombay state in 1960.
 Town plan designed for 1,50,000 to 1,75,000 population and anticipating
future expansion.
 Residential units with good water supply, electricity, drainage, shopping
centres etc. Staff quarters for Govt. employees.
 A zonal centre for every 4-5 sectors which includes theatres, dispensaries,
bank, post office, police station etc.
 Town centre about 75 hectares of land; central bus terminus.
 Varied width of roads for various traffic; cycle ways and motor roads
separated; grid iron pattern of roads; trees on road sides.
 Open spaces of around 1.5 to 2 hectares per 1000 population excluding
playgrounds, parks.
 Capital complex housing important offices.
 Industries distributed in 120 hectares.
 Chandigarh
 Implemented in 1950. 3 years to complete.
 Declared open by President Late Sri. Rajendra Prasad in 1953.
 Le Corbusier main TP, assisted by Jane Drew, Maxwell Fry, P.N.
Thaper (administrative in-charge) and P.L.Verma (C.E. of Punjab).
 The Salient features are:
Planned landscape. Roads easily identified by the type of trees grown.
Scenic charm enhanced by forming an artificial lake on N. part,
obstructing the Sukhna-Choe river.
 Town planned on the principle of super block or sector planning.
Town divided into 47 sectors; each sector is 1.25 km long and 0.81
km wide accomodating people ranging from 10,000 to 15,000.
3-4 neighbourhood units in each sector.
Each sector self sufficient with all daily needs like shopping centres,
hospitals, schools etc.
 Chandigarh (contd…)
 All schools within 15 minutes walkable distance.
 A central continuous green band of open spaces passing through one
sector to another, enabling the pedestrians to walk in perfect safety and
in comfort, along shaded footpaths.
 Town centre with civic and commercial buildings in the central sector.
 7 types of roads for different kinds of traffic. Roads for fast traffic at
sector periphery, roads for slow traffic inside the sector, footpaths for
pedestrians, tracks for cycles.
 Large central park and sufficient open spaces in all the sectors.
 Well planned housing accomodation with all the basic amenities. ‘Sun-
breakers’ (projections of brick and concrete fins set at particular angles
to the walls) keeps the houses cool during summer and hot during
winter.
 Chandigarh (contd…)
 About 600 acres of land set aside for factories and industrial centres .
Industrial buildings segregated from residential sector by green belt.
 Designed the 4 Govt. buildings which he called as ‘capitol’ – High
court, assembly hall, secretariat and Raj Bhavan – added a symbolic
sculptural feature ‘Open Hand’ monument representing the concept of
‘open to give, open to receive’
Chandigarh City Map
Sector 17: City’s Heart and Retail Centre