Minister of State for Housing & Urban Development Asiea Naqas, replying to a clubbed question of Mohammad Khurdshid Alam and Ghulam Nabi Monga, today informed the Draft of Revised Master Plan for Srinagar local areas of 757 sq. Kms being prepared by the Srinagar Development Authority in consultation with Town Planning Organization, Kashmir.
The Minister informed that the Revised Master Plan for Srinagar city is based on GIS platform with all the necessary ingredients of Smart city i.e. preparation/up-dation of existing land use plan, flood zonation maps, population growth and projection, urbanisation projections for the valley, road network inventory of 540 kms road length, traffic and transportation plans, heritage conservation plan, tourism projections and policy, lake conservation policy and urban development.
Aisea said revision of Srinagar Master Plan was entrusted to SAI consultants by Srinagar Development Authority which is being prepared in consultation with Town Planning Organization, Kashmir. Efforts are underway to complete the development trajectory, proposed land use map, zonation, building, byelaws and social infrastructure planning by the end of July, 2016 and after that it would be put in public domain for suggestions and objections, She added. The Minister said 42 structures were sealed in the year 2013 for violation of Master Plan which were converted from residential to commercial, however, all these structures were de-sealed in terms of J&K Civic Laws (Special Provision, Act 2014).
Asiea said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has also sealed 8 structures in Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar, Lal Lowk and Sonawar areas in terms of the orders passed by the J&K Tribunal in the year 2015. She said in response to the orders of High Court, 20 commercial structures were sealed in the year 2015 which were found in violation of sanctioned plan for converting the parking spaces into commercial, adding that out of 20 structures, 16 structures have been de-sealed as per court order after restoring the car parking space as per the approve plan. She said that 17 structures which have been raised in violation of Master Plan have also been sealed by the Enforcement Wing of LAWDA.