Preliminary concept of city master plan by Nov SIVASISH THAKUR GUWAHATI, Sept 11 – The Centre of Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, which has been roped in by the Assam Government to prepare a master plan for the State capital Guwahati, is likely to make a preliminary concept presentation by November this year. “It is a challenging task but our work has been on in full swing, and we expect to complete the preliminary concept and make a presentation before the Assam Government by November. Revenue records have been digitised and the satellite maps are being finalised as part of the endeavour,” Prof Utpal Sarma, Faculty of Planning and Public Policy and also Project Director, told The Assam Tribune. Prof Sarma said that under the new master plan, the area of Guwahati would expand substantially, with a large number of surrounding villages getting incorporated in the metropolitan area. “This will entail putting in place a matching civic infrastructure taking into account the area expansion and the growing populace of Guwahati. Of the total area, 700 sq km will be classified as urban, and the combined area, including urban and rural, will be known as Guwahati Metropolitan Region,” Prof Sarma said. Guwahati, a picturesque city located on the bank of the mighty Brahmaputra and surrounded by hills on almost all sides, has been grappling with choking civic woes, with the problems worsening in the past couple of decades. The existing civic infrastructure has proved to be inadequate to cater to the needs of a burgeoning city population. “Guwahati has been witness to a haphazard and unplanned growth for the last 20-odd years. The result has been congestion everywhere, subjecting the already inadequate infrastructure to extreme stress. Another disturbing fallout relates to environmental concerns,” Prof Sarma said. Prof Sarma said that incorporation of a large number of nearby villages would warrant induction of massive infrastructure development in the form of roads, schools, water supply, commercial centres, handicraft zone, etc. “A watch will also have to be maintained on rural-urban migration,” he added. These challenges, Prof Sarma said, include drainage and sewerage, landslides, protection of forest cover, wetlands and eco-sensitive zones, and flash floods during the monsoons. “The master plan will also address the challenges relating to framing of building regulations, designing city boundary, restricting growth in certain areas, and planning satellite townships,” he added. The Guwahati metropolitan area now covers the Guwahati Municipal Corporation area, North Guwahati Town Committee area and a few revenue villages on the city outskirts.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 06:40:36 +0000
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