No step being taken to overcome acute manpower crisis
Master Plans of several towns gathering dust in H&UDD files
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 24: Shocking it may sound but it is a fact that Government doesn’t have any plan to overcome the problems of an organization which is handling the vital task of urban planning in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, the Housing and Urban Development Department is sleeping over the Master Plans of several towns which were submitted long time back thereby itself becoming stumbling block in the planned growth.
The Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing urban growth at a rapid pace with more than 100 towns at present and the task of ensuring planned development and regulation of settlements is being handled by Town Planning Organization, which also extends advisory services, technical opinions to various development agencies, urban local bodies and Government departments.
However, with every passing year the Town Planning Organization is becoming ‘feeble’ mainly because of non-serious approach of none else than its Administrative Department—Housing and Urban Development, official sources told EXCELSIOR while disclosing that at present there is absolute adhocism on almost all the important posts in the Organization.
“There is no Chief Town Planner and the post is being held by Senior Town Planner. Similarly, one post of Senior Town Planner is lying vacant. Likewise, two posts of Town Planners are vacant and additional charge of one post has been assigned to another officer”, they said, adding “almost all the officers are holding the post on incharge basis as during the past several years the Departmental Promotion Committee meeting has not been convened”.
Disclosing that last meeting of DPC was held in 2016 that too after a gap of more than 20 years, sources said, “during the past five years numerous requests were made to the Housing and Urban Development Department for holding the DPC but it seems that those at the helm of affairs in the department are least bothered about the difficulties being encountered by an organization which has been assigned important tasks vis-à-vis planned development of the towns”.
They further informed that reorganization of the Town Planning Organization has not been conducted during the past several decades again for the reasons best known to those who remained at the helm of affairs in the Housing and Urban Development Department during all these years.
“How can the Government be non-serious towards an organization, which prepares Town Planning Schemes, Development Plans, Master Plans of towns, tourist destination areas and rehabilitation schemes besides conducting surveys, studies and prepares technical reports and documentation of projects remains a million dollar question”, sources said.
The intensity of the Housing and Urban Development Department’s non-serious approach towards planned development of the towns can be further gauged from the fact that Master Plans of several towns, which were submitted long time back, are still gathering dust in the official files.
The Town Planning Organization had submitted Doda Master Plan to the Housing and Urban Development Department on February 21, 2014 while Kathua Master Plan was placed before the senior officers of the department on April 2, 2014.
Similarly, the Master Plans of Reasi and Akhnoor were placed before the Housing and Urban Development Department on September 15, 2017 and November 21, 2017 respectively for further necessary action at its end.
As far as Master Plans of Akhnoor, Reasi, Ramban, Doda and Banihal are concerned, the Housing and Urban Development Department was supposed to invite objections and suggestions by putting the documents in the public domain. However, during the past many years this minor exercise has not been conducted.
Likewise, in the context of Kathua Master Plan, the Housing and Urban Development Department was supposed to notify the same formally as even the exercise of inviting objections and suggestions and their incorporation in the Master Plan was completed long time back.
“By sleeping over these Master Plans the Housing and Urban Development Department is itself becoming stumbling block in the planned growth of towns”, sources said and stressed that Lieutenant Governor and Chief Secretary should take serious note of it and initiate necessary corrective measures.
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