Advisor to Governor, Kewal Krishan Sharma today chaired a meeting to discuss the status of Srinagar Master Plan preparation here at Civil Secretariat.Financial Commissioner, Housing and Urban Development Department, K B Agarwal, Town Planner, Kashmir, Nazir Magrey and Town Planner, Gulzar were present at the meeting.Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmed Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah and VC, Srinagar Development Authority Sajad Ahmad joined the discussion through video conference.The Advisor had a detailed analysis of the preparation of Master Plan, Stages in Master Plan, Milestones of Draft Master Plan Srinagar-2035, Revision of Master Plan 2000-2021, Approach and Methodology adopted for Master Plan, Study of Urbanization and Economic Development, Urban mobility of existing and projected development, Outer, intermediate and inner ring road, Financing the Master Plan, Institutional requirements for its implementation, Legal and policy required for implementation.
The meeting had a threadbare discussion on the Proposed Mass Transport Corridors including Light Metro Corridors and BRT Corridors, Inland Water Transport, besides Social infrastructure, Tourism, Public Health and Urban Sanitation, Land-use Policy and Concept, Existing Land-use Plan 2015, Land suitability analysis, mixed land-use, physical challenges to planning and many alike.While having a detailed assessment of the Master Plan, the Advisor called for regulated development and said that the Master plan should strike a balance between the requirements of the population and the need for balanced urban development.The meeting was informed that in current Master Plan, the local area of Srinagar is increased from existing 416 sq. km to around 766 sq.km besides covering the projected population of Srinagar Metropolitan Region of about 32.50 lakhs by 2035.It was further informed that the Srinagar has ecological fragile area and there must be a clear guidelines and instructions regarding mixed land use in the proposed document.
Town planners have a challenge in hand to preserve the residential as well as ecologically fragile areas, the Advisor said, adding that, work needs to be initiated in proposing new laws to safeguard the ecology.Legal framework for regulatory urban habitation must be both effective and progressive; he said and termed zone wise development code as an innovative step.The meeting was further informed about the development and commercialization around flood basins. The Advisor said that every recommendation made by the committee, shall be taken up.The Advisor further enquired about the recommendations made under Master Plan for Heritage conservation. He said that the Master Plan shall also provide provision for Solid Waste and Sewerage Management.Regarding Disaster Management, Div com Srinagar informed that land has been earmarked for Emergency Operation Centre.The Advisor, while having a detailed analysis of land-use policy, stressed on maintaining and protecting the green areas.The Chair was informed that some areas falling under residential category earlier, have been considered for mixed land use depending on road accessibility.The Advisor also discussed the provisions in the Master Plan to meet requirements of new habitations besides land pooling.At the outset, Town Planners gave a comprehensive power point presentation on Srinagar Master Plan.