as a part of assignment of 'Masters in Planning' course we needed to review Ananya Roy’s paper “Why India cannot plan its cities: informality, insurgence and the idiom of urbanization” - summaries it in our own words and reflect upon the paper for urban planning in Indian cities.

1. Review of Ananya Roy’s “WHY INDIA CANNOT PLAN ITS CITIES…” (2009)
Built Environment & Landuse Planning – Assignment 3 – April 2014
Pratham Pincha – M.plan – 1st year – PP0007013 – Ph. +91-9825185647

2. Review of Ananya Roy’s “WHY INDIA CANNOT PLAN ITS CITIES…”
April 2014
Built Environment & Landuse Planning – Assignment 3 1 | P a g e
Pratham Pincha
12.04.2014
Masters in Planning
CEPT University, Ahmedabad
Review of Ananya Roy’s “Why India cannot plan its cities: informality, insurgence and the
idiom of urbanization”
Roy,A.(2009). “Why India cannot plan its cities: informality, insurgence and the idiom of
urbanization” SAGE Publications, Vol 8(1):76-87
The author (Ananya Roy) principally ponders to the incontrovertible idea of
incapability of a conscious mind to speculate the forces that react to systemic/physical
changes. Especially in the context of India where sharp social diversity is existent based on
rationales of social structure of ethnicity, religion, caste, class etc.
It is mentioned that “The planning of Indian cities cannot be understood as the
forecasting and management of growth. Instead, urban planning in India has to be
understood as the management of resources” (Roy, 2009) I argue that planning is not just
preparing a turf for the game that might happen, it has scopes of intervening in the game
itself to check its appropriateness to the feasible turf that can be prepared. In true meaning
the profession of planning engulfs the ultimate wider objective of societal welfare. Hence,
the job is to check & guide the natural & market forces rather just prepare ourselves for it,
because development is always a result of a conscious efforts.
The author also tries to identify the appropriate nature and degree of regulation &
laws for land. She calls it a “state of deregulation, one where the ownership, use, and
purpose of land cannot be fixed and mapped according to any prescribed set of
regulations or the law” (Roy, 2009) so for the same reasons that growth is too tough to
predict.
In contradiction, she later criticizes this “state of deregulation” (Roy, 2009) that is
existent in the process of urbanization & planning in two ways.
Firstly, given the example of Delhi & Brazil (Roy, 2009) where the state
unauthorizes a part of illegal constructions/encroachments and formalizes the other
part based on certain subjective rationales. That may be justifiable at times as
drafting universal laws and regulations that would logically answer to every situation
is not possible. The people have also learnt from the “misrule of law” (Roy, 2009) for
their own interests & purpose.

3. Review of Ananya Roy’s “WHY INDIA CANNOT PLAN ITS CITIES…”
April 2014
Built Environment & Landuse Planning – Assignment 3 2 | P a g e
The second case, given the example of peri-urban fringes of Kolkata (Roy,
2009), wherein the state exploits the “state of deregulation”, “unmapping” &
“informality” (Roy, 2009) that allows the state considerable territorialized flexibility to
alter the legal properties of land. In Nandigram, West Bengal the state used this
informality as an instrument of both “accumulation & authority” (Roy, 2009).
The planning regime is thus stated as an “informalized entity” (Roy, 2009) & the
people who claim rights over land, has also been initiated by the sense of informality. The
informality is thus a common instrument at both ends and which “creates a certain
territorial impossibility of governance, justice, and development.” (Roy, 2009)
The article speaks that urbanization in India has been coupled with certain notions
that are generally by-product of the change that takes place due to it. And later these
notions are understood as urbanization itself. She calls this as an “idiom of urbanization”
(Roy, 2009).
The two scenes of urbanization from Bangalore & Kolkata have been narrated to
expose the planning failure in India.
Though these two examples have been algebraically equated to prove a
generalized failure of planning in India, It will be unfair to state this without giving attention
to the place/part of the whole process where the planning efforts are being practiced.
Now let us try to conceptualize this whole process of continuous change, transformation &
development of a society.
The diagram-1 of the present situation shows that planning comes as a trouble
shooter agency to the problems & demands of the market & the system. And these efforts
generally materialize into laws & regulations intending to control built form & land as
instrument to bring desired changes. This doesn’t seem to be a very effective place to
intervene as change is a continuous process. It also brings in complexities in the actions
planned & its implementations. The planning regime here is just a provider of utilities to let
the demands make their way without producing negative externalities.
System
A A1
Market Forces
PLANNING
System
Market Forces
PLANNING
Diagram – 1 Diagram – 2

4. Review of Ananya Roy’s “WHY INDIA CANNOT PLAN ITS CITIES…”
April 2014
Built Environment & Landuse Planning – Assignment 3 3 | P a g e
The role of a planning regime is a level above this. As shown in the diagram-2, it has
the right & responsibility to intervene in the design of systems, as development & change for
good has to be out of human conscious. The instruments of design can be political, social
& economic structure.
Before accessing our plans we need to check if our parameter for success or development
is appropriate to our conditions. We need to redefine what development for us is?
Given the example of Bangalore & Kolkata, even if we predict, manage our time &
resources better, we could have only increased our efficiency slightly, being in the same
sphere of planning. And yes we do need planning for development & growth, but at a
different level. Before calling our efforts a ‘failure’ and indulging into it with a more intense
mind & determination for success, we need to check our place of intervention.
A small example to explain the relevance of the posted argument can be the
design of caste system in India. It may have developed & invited various ill elements in it
with time like discrimination & mal practices etc. but the effectiveness of such a social non-
physical structure had impacts that shaped the physical structure of settlements, towns,
cities etc. The example in not mentioned to draw inspiration from it, but it exposes the new
doors that can be knocked to find solution to our planning issues.
A much better system of human classification – free of all ills that the caste system
contained may further down in the stream of development by itself would tackle issues &
complexities of spatial & land related attributes of our society & country.
The spatial configurations of the pols of Ahmedabad were never directly planned as
a physical plan but the design of the social system felicitated certain arrangement of
activities & groups.
Review upto “2. The idiom of urbanization”