Legal and Institutional Barriers to Effective Land Use Planning in the South Asian Region-Scilight

Land Management and Utilization

Case Study

Legal and Institutional Barriers to Effective Land Use Planning in the South Asian Region

Downloads

https://doi.org/10.54963/lmu.v1i2.1528
Volume 1 Issue 2 (2025)

Authors

  • Harpreet Kaur Channi

    Department of Electrical Engineering, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, Punjab141006, India

Received: 23 April 2025 | Revised: 26 May 2025 | Accepted: 4 June 2025 | Published Online: 14 June 2025

This research examines the evolution of land use patterns in Ludhiana, a smart city in Punjab, India, from 2020 to 2024, focusing on key sectors such as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural land use. Through data visualization methods including stacked bar charts, area plots, and correlation heatmaps, the study identifies notable shifts in land allocation trends over the five years. The findings reveal a consistent increase in residential land use, rising from 2,500 hectares in 2020 to 2,900 hectares in 2024, driven by urbanization and growing housing demand. Commercial land expanded from 150 hectares to 230 hectares, and industrial areas from 800 hectares to 900 hectares, highlighting the city’s ongoing economic and infrastructural development. In contrast, agricultural land steadily declined from 12,000 hectares in 2020 to 11,200 hectares in 2024, indicating continued urban encroachment into rural zones. The study employs a mixed-methods approach combining legal analysis, institutional review, and statistical modeling—including multiple linear regression (R² = 0.998)—to assess the drivers and governance barriers of land use change. These changes reflect Ludhiana’s transformation from a predominantly agrarian landscape to a more urbanized environment. The trends underscore the urgent need for integrated and sustainable land use planning that balances development with environmental stewardship and food security. The study calls for forward-looking urban policies that safeguard green spaces and promote equitable land management to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding urban population.

Keywords:

Land Use; Urbanization; Ludhiana; Sustainable Development; Institutions; Urban Planning; Sustainability

References

  1. Choe, K.A., Roberts, B.H., 2011. Competitive cities in the 21st century: Cluster-based local economic development. Asian Development Bank: Manila, Philippines.
  2. Kong, L., Woods, O., 2018. The ideological alignment of smart urbanism in Singapore: Critical reflections on a political paradox. Urban Studies. 55(4), 679–701. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098017746528
  3. Vadrevu, K., Ohara, T., Justice, C., 2017. Land cover, land use changes and air pollution in Asia: A synthesis. Environmental Research Letters. 12(12), 120201.
  4. Jain, M., Korzhenevych, A., Pallagst, K., 2019. Assessing growth management strategy: A case study of the largest rural-urban region in India. Land Use Policy. 81, 1–12.
  5. Swain, A., 2011. South Asia, its environment and regional institutions. In: Elliott, L., Breslin, S. (eds.). Comparative environmental regionalism. Routledge: New York, USA. pp. 76–91.
  6. Google Maps. Available from: https://bhuvan-app1.nrsc.gov.in/thematic/thematic/index.php (cited 9 June 2025).
  7. Kotharkar, R., Ramesh, A., Bagade, A., 2020. Urban heat island studies in South Asia: A critical review. Urban Climate. 24, 1011–1026.
  8. Luan, I.O.B., 2013. Singapore water management policies and practices. In: Tortajada, C., Biswas, A. (eds.). Asian Perspectives on Water Policy. Routledge: London, UK. pp. 101–116.
  9. Rohr, H.E., 2015 Addressing Water Concerns Through Spatial Planning Initiatives For Rural Communities. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 4(4-1), 52–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.s.2015040401.17
  10. Visser, O., Spoor, M., 2011. Land grabbing in post-Soviet Eurasia: the world’s largest agricultural land reserves at stake. The Journal of Peasant Studies. 38(2), 299–323.
  11. Aziz, A., Mayo, S.M., Ahmad, I., 2014. Master Planning Under Legislative and Organizational Impediments (A Case Study of Lahore). Technical Journal, University of Engineering and Technology (UET). 19(IV), 34–42.
  12. Roestamy, M., Martin, A.Y., Rusli, R.K., et al., 2022. A review of the reliability of land bank institution in Indonesia for effective land management of public interest. Land Use Policy. 120, 106275.
  13. Cuevas, S.C., Peterson, A., Robinson, C., et al., 2016. Institutional capacity for long-term climate change adaptation: evidence from land use planning in Albay, Philippines. Regional Environmental Change. 16, 2045–2058.
  14. Bustamante, M., Robledo-Abad, C., Harper, R., et al., 2014. Co-benefits, trade-offs, barriers and policies for greenhouse gas mitigation in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector. Global Change Biology. 20(10), 3270–3290.
  15. Mall, R.K., Srivastava, R.K., Banerjee, T., et al., 2019. Disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation over south Asia: challenges and ways forward. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science. 10, 14–27.
  16. Visvanathan, C., Glawe, U., 2006. Domestic solid waste management in South Asian countries–a comparative analysis. In Proceedings of the South Asia 3R Expert Workshop, Kathmandu, Nepal, 30 August–1 September 2006; pp. 27–38.
  17. NRSC. Available from: https://www.nrsc.gov.in (cited 22 May 2025).
  18. Rani, S., 2025. Land and Water Nexus: Exploring the Interplay of Resources in South Asia: An Introduction. In: Rani, S. (ed.). Land and Water Nexus in South Asia. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 1–48.
  19. Varma, N., Hazarika, S., 2020. Bridges and Barriers for Governance of Water Resources in South Asia—Insights from Brahmaputra Basin in India. In: Barua, A., Narain, V., Vij, S. (eds.). Climate Change Governance and Adaptation. CRC Press: Boca Raton, USA. pp. 161–182.
  20. Mustafa, D., Sawas, A., 2013. Urbanisation and Political Change in Pakistan: exploring the known unknowns. Third World Quarterly. 34(7), 1293–1304.
  21. Sarkar, O.T., Mukul, S.A., 2024. Challenges and institutional barriers to forest and landscape restoration in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Land. 13(4), 558.
  22. Henrich, L., McClure, J., Crozier, M., 2015. Effects of risk framing on earthquake risk perception: Life-time frequencies enhance recognition of the risk. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 13, 145–150.
  23. Wang, S.W., Lee, W.K., Son, Y., 2017. An assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in South Asian agriculture. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management. 9(4), 517–534.
  24. Byambadorj, T., Amati, M., Ruming, K.J., 2011. Twenty-first century nomadic city: Ger districts and barriers to the implementation of the Ulaanbaatar City Master Plan. Asia Pacific Viewpoint. 52(2), 165–177.
  25. Saha, K.K., 2025. From indigeneity to homogeneity: impact of urban transformation on residential neighbourhood spaces in Dhaka. International Planning Studies. 30(1–2), 171–190.
  26. Chand, B.J.K., 2019. Land management problems in Nepal: Repercussions of land use policy and implementation gaps in regional and urban planning. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 4, 17–24.
  27. Sud, R., Mishra, A., Varma, N., et al., 2015. Adaptation policy and practice in densely populated glacier-fed river basins of South Asia: a systematic review. Regional Environmental Change. 15, 825–836.
  28. Mitchell, B., 2005. Integrated water resource management, institutional arrangements, and land-use planning. Environment and Planning A. 37(8), 1335–1352.