Meghalaya Cabinet okays town & country planning scheme to address unplanned urbanization
The state government has announced its decision to implement the Town and Country Planning Scheme, which seeks to bring all stakeholders under one roof for better coordination when it comes to implementation of town and country side planning in the state.
The decision was approved by the state cabinet on Wednesday.
Addressing media persons, chief minister Conrad K Sangma said, “What this scheme does is that it brings all the stakeholders that includes the local traditional institutes, the rangbah shnongs, nokmas, raijs, elakas. It also brings the autonomous district councils (ADCs), it brings the public on board and it also brings in the different departments that are involved on board and all the stakeholders that are involved in those particular areas and then this allows discussions among the different stakeholders to really plan and discuss of what kind of development programmes should take place.”
“And obviously if only one stakeholder does not agree to a particular plan then that plan does not move forward,” he maintained.
On reason behind the decision, Sangma said, “In the master plan for Shillong area, there is almost a 290 square kms area that is there, which includes Mawkhanu and Diengpasoh areas. What is happening in these areas, is that at the local level, at certain department level, at district council level, at the dorbar shnong level, individuals are developing the areas as per their own desires and as per their own plans. So coordination is not there for the town and country planning in the municipal area and beyond the town areas but becuase of the urbanization that is taking place now, there is need to ensure that there is a coordination between the different stakeholders.”
“So in the past we were not having the coordination between the stakeholders, everybody was doing it at their own individual level and which was creating more of an unplanned growth of the new country side areas and the new town areas that are developing now, which is basically urbanisation,” he stated.
Stating that the scheme will allow a platform for a more coordinated effort towards town and country planning, Sangma said, “…in no way this particular scheme going to intervene into any kind of rights of any particular departments or the rangbah shnong or the district council. It only acts as a platform to allow the different stakeholders to come together.”
“There needs for amendment to be made and of course it will be coordinated by the urban affairs department and to introduce this particular scheme and the process to allow this planning to take place along with stakeholders, there will be amendment in the Meghalaya Town and Country Planning Act and ordinance is being brought in to allow this scheme to be introduced, to allow coordination for planning in the town and country side planning, which the scheme will do. This is being with all the stakeholders and once clearance is being given by everyone on then the plan will move forward,” he stated.
Further, the CM informed that to introduce this scheme, amendment of the building byelaws will also be done.
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