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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
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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
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4aro
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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 =$-=>!&
#ew Developments
)ith more or less inade
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ordinances- 2ussoorie and ainital towns (now in Uttarakhand!& @ater, Act F of 9B?B
@ucknow 2unicipal Act 9B?$ 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
>
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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
?
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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
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;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?,$BB
units& 3lan now focuses on development and reutiliation of Jvacant landK or Junusedland useK of densely populated areas in effective manner for social purposes i&e& parksand community facilities& ;igure 6 shows the land use 'reak for 6779-6769& .his
perspective plan is in line with shifting priorities of ur'an governments from providers of
social goods and ur'an amenities to promoters of ur'an economic growth andinvestment& .his is phase of (neoli'eral! development where pu'lic sector is allowing
non-state actors in ur'an development and providing services to growing ur'an
population& "ven the international development cooperation and funding institutions like
B
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the U"+CO and the U+AD do influence local development& *owever, intra-city or
ward level ine
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.a'le > shows onal distri'ution of land use in Agra according to 2aster 3lan
6779-69& ;urther, the medium density (877 persons per hectare! residential areas will
come up in one and & @ow density residential areas are proposed to come up in one, F, F and F& ew commercial activities are planned in outer ones than in the
central parts of the city& 3ollution free industries are directed to come up in one F and
F& *ere, the information technology, service and communication industries too areallocated land use& ew community facilities to 'e created in one and F&
Conservation of natural forest cover around .he .a/, up to >77 meter in circle is priority
for maintaining healthy environment in one F& As per onal planning, residential,commercial, industrial and recreational spaces will 'e developed in almost e Lone )ise @and Use 4reak-Up 6779-6769
1and !se
1and ;o
2one>
2one>I
2one>II
Residential ?&> )*./ 8$&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
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.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
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(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
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.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
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;urther, rationales and techni
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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
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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?