- Legitimizing Politics of Influence through Participatory Planning Practices in Delhi   click here to open paper content337 kb
by    Prakash, Poonam | mrigya13@gmail.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
The paper intends to explore how participatory processes are being used as
a mechanism to co-opt technical expertise as well as legitimize real estate
interests.
Abstract
Participation is usually considered a good thing even if it is unclear how
to achieve a meaningful participation for planning purposes. Viewed from
different perspectives in literature; efficiency, empowerment, freedom of
choice, process of shared learning and solutions, etc. appropriateness of
different forms of participation at different levels and for different
objectives continues to elude planners. Participation has also been
critiqued as a waste of time, simple rhetoric and more strongly as an
instrument of cooption and manipulation.

In India, participation has been part of many urban and rural development
projects focusing on service delivery particularly for the poor, since mid
eighties. In town planning, citizen participation was mandated in some form
in most of the town planning laws in India particularly for plan
preparation and modification of statutory plans like master plans and zonal
plans from the very beginning. In the past few years, in addition to the
statutory requirements for participation other participatory planning
practices like stakeholder workshops, open houses promoted by international
agencies, which are outside the mandated arenas have captured the attention
of the policy makers. There is an increasing cacophony on participatory
planning particularly through the form of stakeholder workshops. This form
of participation in planning is premised on the argument of taking into
account ‘preferences’ of the people and the existing ‘ground realities’.

This paper examines some of these participatory planning practices
currently ongoing in Delhi with an objective to understand the
institutional context in which these practices operate and the nature of
interests served by them. With the help of case examples drawn from city
level and local level plan preparation (preparation of master plan for 2021
and ongoing process of master plan review in Delhi, process of change of
land use and preparation of local area plans), the paper intends to explore
how participatory processes are being used as a mechanism to co-opt
technical expertise as well as legitimize political agendas. The paper will
explore the purpose, extent and nature of participation at the city and
local level.

An examination of some of these practices, points towards process of
legitimizing priorities and agendas identified through back-door networks
and politics of influence in statutory as well as extra-statutory
participatory processes. Secondly, increasing emphasis on extra-statutory
participatory processes not only subverts statutory participatory
processes, but are more open to manipulation and servicing of market
interests.
Keywords
Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2013: Frontiers of Planning - Evolving and declining models of city planning practice
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