Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 22 Sep: Uttarakhand Government has claimed that it is working towards the planned and long-term development of its urban areas, with 98 master plans being prepared for cities and towns across the state. Dehradun, Haridwar and Roorkee are among the cities selected for the purpose. The master plans, being prepared with the assistance of reputed expert institutions, are expected to be finalised soon and are aimed at guiding urban development with the targets of 2041 and 2045 in view.
Of the 98 master plans, seven are being prepared under AMRUT-1, 23 under AMRUT-2, 65 for urban local bodies in seven clusters under the Ease of Doing Business initiative, and three under Chief Minister’s announcements.
Commenting on the plan, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the master plans are being prepared to promote planned and long-term urban development in Uttarakhand. He said the plans would help address problems such as traffic congestion, unauthorised construction and unplanned urbanisation while facilitating better roads and other civic amenities for the people.
The seven cities selected under AMRUT-1 are Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Rudrapur, Kashipur, Nainital and Haldwani. Under AMRUT-2, master plans are being prepared for Kotdwar, Srinagar and Pauri in Pauri district; Jaspur, Nagla, Khatima, Kichha, Bajpur, Sitarganj and Gadarpur in Udham Singh Nagar district; Ramnagar in Nainital district; Manglaur and Laksar in Haridwar district; Tanakpur in Champawat district; Gopeshwar in Chamoli district; Rishikesh, Doiwala and Vikasnagar in Dehradun district, besides Almora, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi and Tehri.
The officials have also claimed that Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in the country to prepare GIS-based master plans even for its second- and third-tier urban local bodies. The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology will enable detailed technical assessment of cities and their surrounding areas and facilitate better land-use planning, control over unauthorised construction, improved traffic management, drainage planning and disaster management.
The new master plans are being prepared with a focus on the specific geographical and environmental conditions of Uttarakhand. In the hilly areas, particular emphasis is being laid on planned development suited to the terrain, promotion of tourism, creation of local economic opportunities, provision of physical and social infrastructure and protection of the environment.
The State Government is taking the assistance of reputed institutions in preparing the master plans. These include the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, SPA Bhopal, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut, NIT Surat and Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur.
Housing Secretary Dr R Rajesh Kumar said that the master plans are being prepared in accordance with CM Dhami’s vision, keeping in view the future requirements of the state and focusing on a planned development. He said the master plans would provide a framework for completing various development-related works within the stipulated time frame.
