NL Correspondent
SRINAGAR: There has been an ‘unplanned' development in Jammu and Kashmir as many departments were not able to procure the land due to ‘ownership constraints of land'.
In its revised master plan for Jammu-2032, the HUDD has stated that, “Due to ownership constraints of land despite having master plans, most of the urban settlements are not able to achieve the desired goals of planned development.”
It says that implementation of the plan requires procurement of land either by way of private negotiation or through the land acquisition acts. “Land procurement through such means naturally requires huge capital investment which is beyond the fiscal capabilities of many of the local authorities. As a result, many plans remain confined to paper plans only.”
Although the revised draft is meant for the Jammu region, but it has also recommended certain measures that needed to be taken in the Valley in regulating the problems of haphazard and unplanned growth in the region.
The revised master plan according to its draft has envisaged that its most effective and judicious use in the best interest of a community through the instrument of land use plan further to be detailed in zonal plans. “Therefore, as a principle of urban planning and development, the urban land is treated as an asset and planned its utilization by various uses accordingly.”
The draft says that there is a growing consciousness that urban planning should be self-financing with minimum burden on local authorities or the government. It has recommended that development of a model for the implementation of proposals in Jammu using the public- private partnership. The HUDD has proposed that development in Jammu be encompassed to 652 sq kms within the local area limits by 2032
An official said the revised master plan was envisaged to address the issues relating to haphazard urban growth, unauthorised habitation and rising demand of housing, infrastructure and services. “The haphazard constructions has led to unplanned development in the state which created drainage problem and congestion of roads,” the official said.
The official said the steady trend of migration from rural areas to cities, breaking up of the joint family system, resulted in the mushrooming of colonies on the peripheries of Jammu and Srinagar cities. Further the official said these cities don't have a planned and a full-fledged sewerage system. “So there is dire need of implementing the master plans that have been proposed for two regions of the state.”
