Underscoring the need for making the new Master Plan for Srinagar more comprehensive so that it incorporates all the fundamental requirements of a smart city, the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh today said the experts involved in the revision of the master plan should come up with such a document so that it becomes a referral point for other cities of the country.The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking at the inaugural function of 3-day seminar-cum-workshop organized by the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) to deliberate on Srinagar Master Plan currently under preparation.
Vice-Chairperson Srinagar Development Authority, Ms. Salma Hamid, senior officers of different departments, experts from leading institutes/organizations involved with Urban Planning, Development and Management from within and outside the state were present on the occasion.
Dr. Singh said the experts working on drafting the new Master Plan should take the parameters of ecology, population and other related parameters into consideration while coming up with the new document so that it can be more specific to the needs of the people as well as the posterity.“Care should be taken to ensure that it comes up as a model one and lacunae if any should be removed so that the people living in one of the oldest living cities of the world get the requisite benefit from it and the living conditions come up at par with the most developed cities of the world”, said the Deputy Chief Minister.
Referring to the recent September deluge, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the experts framing the document should take cue from it so that the necessary mechanism viz-a-viz planning can be put in place in order to avoid such situations. He said we should take a cue from history where the planners would ensure that the advanced planned and the remedial measures are put in place in order to avoid losses in natural calamities like floods etc.
Earlier, Vice Chairperson Srinagar Development Authority, Ms. Salma Hamid presented a brief account on the need for revising the existing Master Plan and the activities undertaken by SDA.It is worthwhile to mention that Srinagar Development Authority is reviewing existing Srinagar Master Plan (2001-2021) so as to make it more broad-based and need specific and in this regard suggestions have been invited from experts of different fields with regard to the possible interventions and the measures needed to be taken in view of the emerging issues of post flood scenario and Government of India’s Smart City programme initiative.The speakers at the first session included Mr. K. K. Joadder Chief Planner, TCPO, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, Prof. PSN Roa, Chairman, Delhi Urban Arts Commission and HoD Housing, School of Planning & Architecture, Prof. Ashok Kumar Department of Regional Planning and Mr. Utpal Sharma Director NIRMA University Ahmadabad.