RURAL PLANNING

TYPES OF SETTLEMENT

Rectangular or Squared Plan

The ancient village plans, discussed earlier, reveal that this plan
is the heritage of the past. These are easily adaptable on level pains under
plough culture. It is easier to plough in rectangular plots and these were
maintained to keep close relation with the orientation of dwellings having
squared or rectangular rooms. In Japan and China respectively, the Jori and
Han den systems of land measure involve the partitioning and
repartitioning of the land into square units which is related to the
rectangular form of settlements. The bigha system of land measure seems
to be the end product of these orientations and ploughing system. The
arrangement of paths and houses find maximum place in compact villages
of such plan. Like bigha, 23 the traditional furrow long (furlong) became
220 years, the traditional width of ridge
22 yards, thus evolved the common land measure of an acre 484 square
yards, the area of the usual unit of ploughing the strip. 24.
 This rectangular plan is conspicuously found in proper Malwa
plateau, Nimar upland and in the Narmada valley plain around Maheswar.
These rectangular villages may be of natural growth or regular square
villages occupying the four squares on a crossing, varying in size according
to the attractive or restrictive forces of the site
Guljhara, Piplod Khurd and Khurda, treated elsewhere, present distinct
morphological structure.

Chess Board Plan

A rought grid plan is visible in some of the villages in the

Narmada valley where two main lanes interest each other at the centre.
Other small lanes go to interior houses parallel to the former main lanes.
In between these lanes, houses are arranged in sectors or castes. Wells are
found in one corner of lane-crossing sometimes serving a ward or the sector
but open for all castes people. In these villages, high caste Brahmins or
Rajputs occupy the central position and lowercaste
in-habit the marginal areas The central parts of Dharar and Manpur villages
present such plan.
Radial Plan

In such a village, a number of streets and lanes converge on its centre, the
nucleus occupied by the Patel’s landlord’s garhi (big house) or a market
place or some temples of Shiva or Hanuman (the Hindu Gods) Most of
these villages are old in origin representing the ancient aggregation of
maximum possible houses under the protection of garhi. The well situated
in the centre also serves the villagers
Dopple-Dorfer Pattern

Villages separated by roads, streets, small rivulets or ponds

present double or sometimes treble nucleatin, particularly in the level plain
of the Narmada valley and in northern plateau region of Malwa.
Settlements like Bhugore and Bhilkheri (Shujalpur) and Datana-Matana
(Ujain) seem to have grown by colonization upon the edge of the other.
Other examples are Damkhera and Bardia Surta, Batholi Tajpura
(Maheshwar), Dival-Gujaria Khera (Khargone), Rampura-Gadaria Rupadeh
(Seoni-Malwa) and Nimach-Malona, Barkala-Charkhera (Harda)

Strassendorfer

Some villages working as rural markets are linked with the

neighbouring towns by road and lie on both sides of roads or streets and
present street village plan. Sometimes houses arranged in line along an
open space resemble same pattern particularly, found in Gond inhabited
areas of Betul. Such pattern is visualized in the Narmada valley as well as
on Nimar upland

Linear Plan (Reihendorfer)

Some settlements develop in one direction like kellendorfer or

strassendorfer and include Dickinsons’ marschhufendorfer (marsh village),
waldhufendorfer (forest villages) thukolonien and gutskolonien (estate
settlements) Attractive forces encourage linear growth and restrictive
elements or marsh, forest or highland prevent expansion in other sides and
linear plan extends along the track or pathway leading to ferry point or big
villages.

Double Linear (Angerdorfer)

In the Narmada valley plain of Hoshangabad, some villages

occupy high ground spreading in one direction in two lines separated by
cart tracks or open space leading to field and forest

Elongated Plan
 Drypoint villages develop along the high level surface restricted
by floods or dissected topography form two sides and form elongated shape.
Sometimes houses aligned along the stream for the advantage of water front
present such forms. Matkuli Mongra (Sohagpur), Hari Dhana (Betul) and
others in the Narmada valley along the river represent well-developed
elongated plan. Morphological structure of Matukuli village treated
elsewhere gives spatial expansion of settlements in between river and nala

Hollow Pattern

An open or unbuilt space, a pond, high ground or satti

(structure, platform, temple in the memory of a pious lady) or temple or big
banyan or peepal tree occupying the central place in a settlement of
compact form resembles such plan visualized in many parts of the world,
here exemplified by Kajalkheri (Hoshangabad), Dalchi (Barwaha), Piranpur
(Mungoli) and Barauda in Jaora (Ratlam)

L-Shaped Pattern
 Sometimes at the junction of a main road and a minor street or
track, two rectangular blocks of houses meet at right angles. The smaller
block represents new growth due to attractive forces applying in one side
greater force and restrictive forces fixing them to extend in one direction.
Chatarkhera (Hoshangabad), Churia (Betul) Kodhur (Khandwa) and
Dogaha Kalan in Khurai and others in the Narmada valley in Udaipura and
Hoshangabad along the river represent such plan.

T-Shaped Plan

In some villages, a smaller limb extends towards cultivated

fields at an angle to give the L_Shape a new form resembling T Such a limb
also develops from a main rectangular or elongated form.

Study of Sample Villages

The study of a few selected sample villages from typical regions would
present the actual picture of various aspects of rural settlements..

Sanchi

Lying on 23° 29’ N and 77° 45’E(1,290 population, 1990) at a distance of 9

km from Vidisha and 44 km from Bhopal, it is a medium-sized village and
has a station on the middle section of the Delhi-Bombay railroad. The
village stands at the foot of small flat topped hill of sandstone rising 100
metres above the plain. Most probably, Sanchi derives its name from
Sanchi-Manchi Bhils the original settlers of the site, like Jhabaua from
Jhabbo Nayak and Banswara from Bansia Bhils. The arable land below the
scarp in Betwa plain, water available from the river and lately supplemented
by tanks, a suitable defensive site at the foot of a small hill in the west and a
junction of old routes – all combined provided a suitable site for the
settlement of the Chandrabanshi Rajputs, who established themselves here.
Due to unsettled political conditions in the region, defence played a major
role in making it a close-knit cluster.

The settlers have made several adjustments with the physical terrain in
successive phases for the needs of expansion, settlements and sustenance
(Fig.3.9a). At least four phases of land clearance can be clearly marked. At
first, it was difficult for the settlers to sustain themselves without sufficient
water for drinking, at least. Sometimes the nala or a tributary of the Betwa
provided water during rains and winter but for summer season they had to
go to further areas. So, a well was sunk and dam thrown to construct tank
below the hills. This Chandrabedhi diameter of the tank proves its Rajput
origin. Another small tank was built in the north-western part.
 The improved road and rail transport network could not
change the compactness of the village in general, the village shopkeepers
preferred to shift to roadside so that they might serve the casual travelers.
Others came from outside and started restaurants and hotels and retail
shops. The Indian Railways established residential quarters for its staff.
With the opening of N.E.S. Block new quarters and office buildings were
constructed. To this were added the public heath centre, telegraph office,
museum, circuit house, guest house, tourist bungalow, dharmshala,
panchayat ghar (community centre), emporium, cooperative bank, post
office and other institutions, all in a planned way quite different in layout
from the village. Civil facilities like supply of water through a new well,
electricity, trains and bus service will, still, attract new-comers who must
depend on business and industry only, as no land is now free for
cultivation. The Bhil tribes still occupy separate site due to their racial
character.

The scarp of the hill slopes and the arable land below gave it originally an
elongated shape below the hill and polygonal in the north-east side
(Fig.3.9a). Tribals gave it an L-shpae and new additions along with civil
offices brought U.shape with spaces in between for future use. Different
caste section have developed the centre being occupied by the Kshatriyas
(Rajputs), the Kaysthas, the Brahmins, and the businessmen. The outskirts
are covered by service class people, the Muslims and the agricultural
labourers like Balai and Chamars. Below the rocky slope in the north-west
live agricultural class people of tribal origin and institutions. Two primary
schools for girls and boys were established in 1953 and 1955 respectively.
Near the higher secondary school opened in 1955 lies the old tank with its
earthen mounds. One small temple called Marhia, two Hanuman’s temples,
and one Shiva’s temple scatter in the residential area. In the north-west of
the main village, bare rocky slope of sandstone spreads up to museum and
up to the road skirting the forested hill. Through this slope, one reaches the
village, rock boulders strewn here and there and the thorny enclosures
surround the houses on the outskirts.

The new section is different from the old one. Starting from the railway
station, one may see the railway office and quarters on the left side of the
road leading to the cross road. Other railway quarters spread along the
railway to the right almost parallel. In the rectangle formed by this road and
the road leading to Vidisha are scattered the telegraph office, the emporium,
and the panchayat ghar – all occupying the amidst wide open spaces and
arable fields. In another rectangle formed by the Station Road and the
Raisen Road are scattered, in a planned way, along feeder roads, the
government quarters, the cooperative bank, hotels, retail shops, the
Gurudwara Samiti and behind them the block quarters and the office, the
tourist bungalow and the post office along the road. After, the cross road, in
the left sector, lie the government orchard and the circuit house each having
uncultivated space in between with lawns and occasional trees.

Beyond these are the forests and the hill, approachable by motorable
metalled but circuitus road and also by a narrow path which starts beyond
the high lying pond below the foothill. Beyond the hills are the magnificent
stupas, the beautiful temple and other remains. The great stupa, the chief
object of interest, stands conspicuously in the centre of the hill. This
building forms a segment of a sphere, solid throughout, and built of red
sandstone blocks, with a diameter of 100 feet at the base. A berm 15 feet.
high sloping outwards at the base forms a raised pathway 5.5 feet. wide
round the stupa, giving it a total diameter of 121 feet 6 inches.

Mansara shilpshastra and Arthashastra have description about rural

settlement plans which are not perceptible at present in their true form;
based on the description and illustrations of Acharya and Havel these are
treated bellow.
 Dandaka was rectangular or square and possessed a rampart of
the same shape; sarvatobhadra, having oblong or square plan – the temple
of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva being located in the centre and inhabited by
the Brahmins and religious aesthetics; padmaka was lotus shaped; svastika
resembled the mystic figure of Svastika; prastara was either square or
oblong in shape; Karmuka, semi-circular or semi-elliptical like bow;
nandyavarta, circular; and chaturmukh having four gates extending east to
west (Figs. 4.22, 4.23) These plans have, however, been obliterated,
modified, during the long period of history and only relics are visualized in
the form of fortresses or walled villages. The patterns visible in the field, on
the large-scale maps, cadastral maps and referred to in records present little
conscious planning of rural settlements. Yet, we find an arrangement in the
internal structural elements as well as external outlines of the villages. The
compact villages so conspicuously found in the middle Ganga valley, in the
Malwa region and elsewhere, “present a definite layout and an unmistakable
connection between the configuration of the site, surface water (river, tank,
pond, well) the nature of soil, cultivation, groves and the shapes of the
fields, “22. These patterns are closely related to cart tracks, roads, mosques
and temples the cultural elements and also to the physical environment of
the dwellings like site. Caste communities based on jajmani system play
their own part in occupying separate sectors and so do the vertical
differences in house system based upon caste, prestige and status of villager.
Impact of defence, a significant element to determine the shape and size of
villages in the past, in still visualized in several rural settlements in many
parts of the world.