Bombay is the third city in India to have undertaken some form of metropolitan planning on a regional scale, earlier instances being those of Delhi and Calcutta. It is the fifth, if one includes also the quite valuable regional planning work that has centred on two other urban areas, Mysore and Kanpur. The Bombay Metropolitan Regional Planning Board thus had a great deal to go on by way of precedent. This is what makes the Board's work, as represented by its "Report on the Draft Regional Plan of Bombay Metropolitan Region, 1970-71", particularly disappointing. The Report has only one tooth in an otherwise toothless face. Though armed with wide powers for staffing, the Board chose to work through a collection of eight "Study Groups" which consisted of casual members, all with other full-time professional preoccus parties. The reports of these Study Groups were assembled to ultimately form chapters of the Board's Final Report. No less unfortunate than the Board's choice of working methods was its failure to take advantage of the experience and talent available from earlier city planning efforts. At every stage, the Board glosses over major issues or dodges them altogether. The question of migration into Bombay is neatly side-stepped by making three series of population projections; the task assessing the cost of executing the Regional Plan is not even attempted; and problems of implementation are evaded. There is only one recommendation which has any real significance and this is the proposal that a new metro-centre, or twin city, be established on the mainland across the harbour from Bombay. The significance of the recommendation has been heightened by the fact that the State Government has accepted the proposal with remarkable speed and even initiated action on it. A new corporation has been formed and entrusted with the task of detailed planning and development of the trans-harbour area and 55,000 acres of land in the area have been already notified for acquisition. Planning work is to begin shortly and, if all goes well, we can expect vigorous activity and perhaps a flourishing settlement in that area before the next five years are out. However, the establishment of the twin city raises some fundamental issues. It is necessary that these are thoroughly examined at the inception of the project.