It should be a collective responsibility to make our cities cleaner and better from every angle – Durga Shankar Mishra
Lucknow: Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra addressed ‘Uttar Pradesh Regional Planning Conclave-2023’ organized by Housing and Urban Planning Department, UP and High Level Committee on Urban Planning, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India at Hotel Taj Mahal through video conferencing.
In his address, the Chief Secretary said that the city is the mainstay of economic development. From education, health, entertainment to water, electricity, gas, houses all kinds of amenities are available in the city, so people want to come here and it is our responsibility to make our cities clean and better from every point of view.
He said that without planning, there is more possibility of disturbance than improvement in development works. Planned development of cities will lead to economic and organized development of the state. Regional planning will play an important role in the planned development of cities. There is a lot of difference between regional planning and general planning.
In this regard, the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation Guidelines were issued in the year 2018 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. Regional plan and master plan are prepared on the basis of these guidelines.
He told that a city has a master plan. Development work is to be done by connecting nearby cities, development authorities, municipal bodies in the regional plan. A GIS based master plan is being prepared for every city with a population of more than 50,000. After this, a master plan will be prepared for all these districts so that they can be developed.
He said that the concept of living a better life is increasing rapidly among the people and because of this, the population in the cities is also increasing rapidly, therefore the regional plan will have to be prepared keeping in mind the needs of the future, only then better services can be provided to the citizens. Will be able to do
He said that the Prime Minister has taken a pledge to make the country developed by the year 2047. Urbanization will be a major means of making the country developed. This plan is being prepared for Amrit Kaal, so that better quality of life can be given to the people coming to the city with aspirations and expectations.
He said that it is seen many times, facilities are developed in the cities, but there is no coordination. We are envisaging the State Capital Region. On the other hand there are some shortcomings which are a challenge to overcome. There is also a need to find a solution to the growing slums, providing proper space to the vendors.
He said that at present the power of PM is being used in the state for preparing future action plan. Efforts should be made to benefit maximum number of people with minimum effort. By better planning, services of better transport, water supply, drainage, cleanliness etc. can be provided to the people, this will reduce the expenditure on development of infrastructure facilities and their maintenance.
He said that today is the time for innovation. People need to be skilled up so that they can excel to the best of their ability. He said that every region has some or the other specialities, keeping these in mind the plan should be prepared. The infrastructure facilities to be developed under the plan should be long term. Along with the plan, he laid special emphasis on preparing such an administrative structure, through which work can be done according to the plan.
High Powered Committee (HLC), Chairman, Government of India Keshav Verma, Additional Chief Secretary Housing and Urban Planning Nitin Ramesh Gokarn, Principal Secretary Planning Alok Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Lucknow, Divisional Commissioner Ayodhya and other senior officers were present in the conference.
