A Critical Analysis of the Efficacy of Institutional Framework in the Urban Planning Process of Kochi and Coimbatore

This study while focusing on the Master Plan attempts to examine the legal framework within which the Plan has been drafted, and the process of drafting the Plan. It analyzes the procedures adopted for consultations with stakeholders, and specifically with citizens with a view to examining whether their views were incorporated in the draft. The interdepartmental consultations with the concerned departments of both the State and Central Governments and with parastatal bodies are investigated to understand the extent to which these entities contributed to the drafting of a truly integrated plan reflecting the interest of all stakeholders. The study seeks an answer to the question of whether the final draft is an exercise to produce a harmonious and organic plan or whether it is merely a patchwork quilt of individual plans of each component. Hence, to examine whether the master plan formulation process is comprehensive and consultative in nature, i.e. to what extent it incorporates the tenets of Integrated Urban Development, the efficiency of the Institutional Frameworks in the Urban Planning process is analyzed for this purpose.