Delineating the Growth Boundary of Indian Cities: Projection of the Urban Footprints

Abstract

Cities in India cannot be contained by arbitrarily delimiting their boundaries. The delineation of a master plan boundary, formally known as urban growth boundary (UGB) of Indian cities, is utterly flawed not only because of the arbitrariness with which UGBs are delineated but also because of the utter discounting of the tenets of the draft National Land Utilisation Policy, which specifies functions of land serving the needs of people, the environment and different sectors of the city’s economy. The indiscriminate urban sprawl has only resulted in the loss of high-quality agricultural land and open spaces besides disturbing the ecosystems. It is not tenable that land prices necessarily rise within the city owing to the UGB, as it is plausible to have comparable growth on both sides of the UGB if they have the same level of services at the same price. This article examines the debate around UGB and undertakes an empirical exercise to objectively delineate it for an Indian city through different urban footprints to prevent the arbitrary urban sprawl that is occurring. The approach followed in this article is applicable to any city across the geographies.