*Limits to be up to Supwal, Bishnah, Ban, Akhnoor
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 17: Jammu Development Authority (JDA) has proposed 652 square kilometer area under new Master Plan-2032 and submitted the same to the Housing and Urban Development Department for obtaining approval of the State Cabinet, which is likely shortly. However, the preparation of Zonal Plans under the new Master Plan would get delayed in view of staff crunch in the JDA.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that a total of 305 square kilometer area falls under the existing Master Plan but in the revised Master Plan, which will remain applicable till 2032, the local area limits have been proposed to be extended by more than 100%——652.33 square kilometer.
About 103 village settlements have to be notified for extension of Master Plan limits to 652.33 square kilometer and for this purpose, No Objection Certificates (NOCs) have been received from the Rural Development and Revenue Departments and the same have been communicated to the Housing and Urban Development Department.
“In this way, the Draft Master Plan-2032 is complete in all respect and needs to be notified for inviting objections and suggestions, which is a statutory requirements under Section 10(1) of Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970”, sources said while disclosing that jurisdiction of new Master Plan would be up to Supwal (Samba), Bishnah, Akhnoor and Ban (near toll post on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway).
They said that Housing and Urban Development Department is going to place a memorandum before the State Cabinet for approval to the extension in the limits from existing 305 square kilometer to 652.33 square kilometer and the same is likely shortly. Following approval to the extension of the limits, the Jammu Development Authority would invite objections and suggestions and then the new Master Plan would come into force, sources said while disclosing that this was also deliberated upon in the 74th meeting of the Board of Directors of Jammu Development Authority convened by the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh, who is also Minister Incharge Housing and Urban Development Department on June 11, 2015.
For effective implementation of Master Plan, Zonal Development Plans are required to be framed to ensure the planned development of the city. However, the Jammu Development Authority doesn’t have adequate manpower to accomplish this task, which remained no priority during the formulation of existing Master Plan-2021, sources said, adding the technical manpower in Town Planning Section of Jammu Development Authority is not sufficient to take up the assignment of preparation of Zonal Plans.
At present JDA has only one Chief Town Planner, one Senior Architect, two Assistant Town Planners, one Assistant Architect, two Planning Assistants, four Surveyors and four Assistant Surveyors, which is grossly inadequate to carry out Zonal Plan preparation exercise, sources informed.
To avoid failure of implementation of Master Plan as has been witnessed till date, the Government would have to either augment manpower of JDA or outsource preparation of Zonal Plans otherwise entire exercise carried out for ensuring planned development of Jammu would become unfruitful, sources stressed.
It is pertinent to mention here that Master Plan is macro level planning of any city while as Zonal Plans are aimed at ensuring micro-level planning and giving least attention to the preparation of Zonal Development Plans would defeat the objective of preparation of Master Plan.
Moreover, with the extension of proposed Master Plan limits, Jammu Development Authority would require additional manpower to enforce building activity within an area of 652 square kilometer as at present Enforcement Wing of the JDA is ailing and needs to be strengthened, sources said.
They informed that at present JDA has only one Director Land Management, two Tehsildars, 4 Girdawars and 14 Khilafwarzi Officers in its enforcement wing, which is grossly inadequate to implement even the existing Master Plan, which becomes further casualty due to slackness of Enforcement Wing.
“The timely decision on creation of additional manpower becomes imperative as recruitment against the new posts takes quite long time in Jammu and Kashmir”, sources said.
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