Metropolitan Planning Committee

(1) The Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a Metropolitan Planning Committee in a metropolitan area to prepare a draft development plan for such area as a whole. (2) The Metropolitan Planning Committee shall consist of twenty one members of whom- (a) fourteen shall be elected, in such manner as may be prescribed, by and from amongst, the elected members of the municipalities and the panchayats in the metropolitan area in proportion to the ratio between the population of the municipalities and panchayats in that area; (b) seven shall be nominated by the Government of whom- (i) one shall be an eminent person having experience in local administration or public administration; (ii) one shall be an officer not below the rank of Senior Town Planner of the Town Planning Department; (iii) one shall be an officer not below the rank of Chief Engineer; (iv) one shall be the Secretary to Government in charge of Urban Development Department. (3) one shall be the Deputy Commissioner of the district in which the metropolitan area is comprised or where more than one district are comprised in the metropolitan area, one of the Deputy Commissioner of such district, as the Government may nominate; (4) The Mayor of the Municipal Corporation in the Metropolitan Area shall be the Vice-Chairperson of the Committee; Provided that when there is more than one Municipal Corporation in the Metropolitan Area, one of the Mayors shall be nominated by the Government by rotation. (5) The Chairperson of the Committee shall be the Minister in-charge of Urban Development Department of the Government. (6) There shall be a Secretary to the Committee and he shall be nominated by the Government. (7) The members mentioned under clause (a) to sub-section (2) shall be elected under the guidelines, supervision and control of the State Election Commission. (8) Where the Government are of opinion that representation of the Central or State Government and of any organization or institution is necessary for carrying out the functions assigned to the Committee, they may provide for the inclusion of the representatives of the Government concerned or of such organization or institution, as invitees, in the Committee for the limited purpose of carrying out the functions so assigned to it. (9) The Committee shall prepare draft development plan for the metropolitan area as a whole and perform such other functions relating to planning and co-ordination for the metropolitan area as may be assigned to it by the State Government, from time to time. (10) The Committee shall, in preparing the draft development plan- (a) have regard to- (i) the plans prepared by the municipalities and the panchayats in the metropolitan area; (ii) matters of common interest between the municipalities and panchayats including the co-ordinated spatial planning of the area, sharing of water and other physical and natural resources, the integrated development of infrastructure and environmental conservation; (iii) the overall objectives and priorities set out by the Central or the State Government; (iv) the extent and the nature of investments likely to be made in the Metropolitan area by agencies of the Central and State Governments and other available resources, whether financial or otherwise; (b) Consult such institutions and organizations as the State Government may, by order, specify. (11) The Secretary shall forward the development plan, as recommended by the Metropolitan Planning Committee, to the Government for approval. (12) The procedure to be followed in the meeting including the quorum for such meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Committee shall be governed by such rules as may be prescribed.