Abstract:
Growing imbalances in the development from state to state, region to region and area to area has necessiated the realisation of development programmes. Consequently, the strategies for regional development and planning have been set in the past five year plans. Division of the country into planning regions at macro, meso and micro levels as also the preparation of regional plans for some of priority areas in the country were sponsored under five year plans. While there have been only sporadic reference to rural-urban relations relations in the First and Second plan documents, the Third plan contained chapters on 'Balanced Regional Development' and 'Housing and Rub an and Rural Planning'. Third, fourth, fifth and sixth five year Nationa plans recognised the need for the development programmes in the country to be conceived in terms of regions (spatial), defined by economic, social and geographical considerations. The Fourth plan referred at length to the need for redressing inter-state and intrastate imbalances in development which included, by implication, the rural problems as well. The plan emphasized the urgent need for preventing unrestricted and chaotic growth in metropolitan cities and highlighted the necessity of regional approach to the problems of urban development. The fifth Five Year Plan accepting the Fourth Plan strategy enlarged the scope of urban development in small and medium towns for regulating the growth of big
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metropolises. The Sixth Five Year Plan strived to achieve a balanced national growth, wherein development programmes for backward regions, called for special attention. Seventh Five Year Plan has recommended the preparation of district develop-�â� �¢ ment plans for effective implementation and monitoring.
