In News:

• The NCR Planning Board had made public the Draft Regional Plan-2041 for the National Capital Region in October 2021.
• The plan is proposed to replace NCR Regional Plan – 2021 which came into force in 2005.

What’s in today’s article:

• About NCR (Formation, Areas covered, etc.)
• NCR Planning Board (Objective, Functions, Chairman, etc.)
• NCR Regional Plan 2041 (Key Proposals)

About NCR:

• National Capital Region (NCR) is a unique example of inter-state regional planning and development for a region with national capital – Delhi as its core.
• The region covers the whole of Delhi and certain districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, covering an area of about 55,083 sq. kms.

About NCR Planning Board:

• The National Capital Region (NCR) and its Planning Board were created under the National Capital Region Planning Board Act of 1985.
• Objective: To reduce immigration to National Capital Delhi through dispersal of economic activities and planed, coordinated and balanced development in the region.
• Functions:
  • It provides assistance in framing projects for infrastructure development in the region.
  • It provides loan assistance for implementation of the projects.
• Chairman: Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

NCR Regional Plan – 2041:

• Delineation of NCR:
  • On NCR Delineation, consensus was arrived at the fact that the geographical size of the region should be a contiguous circular region of 100 km radius from Rajghat (Delhi).
  • Beyond 100 km radius and up to existing NCR boundary, all notified cities/ towns along with a corridor of 1 km on either side of connecting Expressways/ National Highways/ State Highways/ Regional Rapid Transit System will be included.
• Urbanization of NCR:
  • The draft report says 57 per cent of the total areas of the region will be urbanised by 2031 and 67 per cent by 2041.
  • The report suggests that there is a need to create adequate peripheral roads to avoid congestion and reduce pollution in the region.
  • The plan also recommended construction of two more regional expressways in addition to the Eastern and Western Peripheral expressways.
• Water Supply Management:
  • The Draft Regional Plan 2041 suggests exploring possibilities of bringing seawater to Delhi-NCR through pipelines from the nearest source of seawater.
  • This will help in meeting non-potable water requirements for large industries as well as commercial establishments.
• Multi-modal Connectivity:
  • The Plan lays key focus on multi modal connectivity across NCR through air, road, rail and inland waterway connectivity.
  • It proposes 30-minute connectivity through super-fast trains within major cities of NCR.
  • It also proposes to explore feasibility of 30-minute Mass Transit Rail System from nearest NCR boundaries to Delhi.
• Reducing the number of vehicles:
  • The draft plan puts special impetus on the development of bicycle and pedestrian facilities across NCR.
  • It also stressed that the spatial spread of all new urban settlements should be decided based on having a 15-minute city (like Paris) concept.
    • In this concept, all essential services and daily needs items are available within a 15-minute radius on foot, bike or non-motorised transport.
  • The draft plan also emphasised making multilevel parking complexes a mandatory requirement for city centres with high rise commercial complexes, so as to make the region congestion free.
• No mention of increasing forest cover:
  • The current forest area in the region is around 1,551 sq. km, 2% of the entire NCR area.
  • Unlike the last two regional plans, the 2041 plan has set no specific target to increase the forest cover.