*Department of Civil Engineering, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa. E-mail: ddas@cut.ac.za
**Town Planning Section, Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Shivajinagar, Pune, India. E-mail: sgs.civil@coep.ac.in
***Assistant Town Planner, Town Planning and Valuation Department, Government of Maharashtra
Online published on 20 June, 2017.
India has seen several State reorganisations over the years since the independence. There is also a demand from various regions for further reorganisation and formation of new States in the country. While delineating a new State or reorganising States, varying parameters have been employed in the process. However, it is apparent that the intended outcome of the State reorganisations have not been achieved and the challenge for a suitable approach still persists. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to critically analyse the prevailing State delineation process and its outcomes; and the implication of the regional planning concept in the State delineation process. Critical review of literature and case study approach was followed in this study. It is revealed that despite the several State reorganisations that have been done, the disparity in development among the new and parent States, and within a State persists. It is therefore argued that a cohesive approach between the State delineation process and the regional planning concept will bring vitality to the development processes and make the newly formed States more viable on the grounds of socio-economic development.
