The Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act (GTPUDA), 1976 is a robust legislation for urban planning as compared to the Acts of other States. The Act mandates a two‐step Urban planning process. Here, first step is to prepare a ―Development Plan‖ for the entire city or development area, and second step is to prepare ―Town Planning Schemes‖ (TPSs) for smaller portions of the development area. It involves three main stages:
a) In Town Planning or Plot Reconstitution Scheme the pockets of land, covering the area to be developed, are pooled and its development is financed with land-owner’s involvement, without compulsorily acquiring land.
b) The land required for developing network of roads, utilities and services is taken by the development authority /infrastructure providing agency and the developed pockets of land redistributed to the land owners.
c) The reconstituted plots are allotted to the owners in proportion to their land holdings.
Thus, successful TPS integrates new areas into the developing city. The TPS are usually prepared for 100 to 200 hectares of land, with detailing of infrastructure required and cost estimations for the new development pockets. The TPS is one of the mechanisms used to assemble land and/or develop land. Other mechanisms being: Land Acquisition, Land Reservations, Transferable Development Rights, and Guided Land Development. Preparation of the TPS for land assembly and development was first included in the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. Later Gujarat Town Planning & Urban Development Act, 1976 included it as an important step next to Development Plan.