Failing to finalize Kathua Master Plan

20/02/2019

In a testimony of non-serious approach towards ensuring planned development of major towns, Government has failed to finalize the Kathua Master Plan the exercise for which was started over four years back by the Housing and Urban Development Department. The intensity of casual approach can be gauged from the fact that even draft is not available either on the website of Town Planning Organization or of District Kathua. Four and half years back an exercise was set into motion for having a Master Plan for Kathua town to ensure its planned development and check haphazard growth. Accordingly, a draft was prepared by the Town Planning Organization (TPO) after a long drawn exercise and then it was put in the public domain as per the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Authority Act, 1976 for inviting objections and suggestions, which is a mandatory exercise before finalization of any Master Plan. A number of suggestions and objections were received from the general public on the draft and thereafter for several months no further step was initiated by the Housing and Urban Development Department.
The committee headed by Deputy Commissioner Kathua and comprising of Chief Town Planner Jammu, Chief Architect Jammu and Chief Executive Officer Kathua Municipal Council had to complete this process within a period of one month by January 26, 2019. Astonishingly, this committee has not met even once what to talk of disposal of suggestions and objections and submission of report to the Housing and Urban Development Depart-ment. The delay in finalization of the Master Plan is notwithstanding the fact that for its implementation the Housing and Urban Development Department vide SRO-407 and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970 had constituted Kathua Development Authority”, sources further informed. As per SRO-407 the members of Kathua Development Authority will hold the office till September this year and whether the Master Plan will be in place for its implementation by then remains a million dollar question keeping in view the dilly-dallying approach towards finalization of the Master Plan. It is pertinent to mention here that preparation of Master Plan of major towns in a time bound manner never received serious attention of the State administration despite the fact that there is no end to the haphazard growth.

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