Srinagar Master Plan: CM Pushes Planned Growth, Easier Building Approvals

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for balancing planned urban growth with public concerns, ease of doing business and environmental protection while finalising proposed amendments to the Master Plans of Srinagar and Jammu.

The proposals were discussed during the 91st Board of Directors meeting of the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and the 85th Board of Directors meeting of the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA).

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Chairman SDA Shabir Hussain Bhat and Chairman JDA Rupesh Kumar made separate presentations on the proposed plans, covering amendments, public feedback, regulatory requirements and measures for planned and sustainable urban development.

For Srinagar, the discussions covered Town Planning Schemes, safeguards for Dal, Nigeen and other water bodies, alignment with the J&K Unified Building Bye-Laws-2021, and reforms to simplify land-use zoning and building permissions.

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The meeting also considered measures aimed at making land-use regulations and building approval procedures more straightforward.

The Revised Jammu Master Plan-2032 was discussed with regard to 15 planning zones, rationalisation of land-use categories, geo-referenced mapping and alignment of major infrastructure projects with the plan document.

Environmental and heritage safeguards also formed part of the discussions, including protection of the Tawi riverbed and watercourses.

Omar stressed the need to balance urban development with environmental protection and public concerns while finalising the proposed amendments. He also emphasised reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business.

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The meetings were attended by Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, ACS Finance Shailendra Kumar, ACS PWD Anil Kumar Singh, Commissioner Secretary Planning, Monitoring & Development Department Alice Vaz, Commissioner Secretary Housing & Urban Development Mandeep Kaur, Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir, Commissioner Secretary Law, Deputy Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar, Commissioners of Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Jammu Municipal Corporation, and other concerned officers.

Jammu-based officers participated in the discussions through video conferencing.

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