Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
After being delayed for three decades, the city's Development Plan was finally approved on Thursday evening by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Urban Development, Eknath Shinde. This decision will give a significant boost to the city's development. The government also approved the Fringe Area Development Plan (of Cidco).
Municipal Administrator G Sreekanth took the initiative to ensure the city's DP gets ready and implemented. A draft plan was prepared by the DP unit appointed by the state government. Last year, the draft plan was made public, and suggestions and objections were invited and incorporated into the plan. The plan was then sent to the government the final approval. For the past year, the plan had been awaiting government approval. On Thursday evening, the state government's Urban Development Department (UDD) approved the plan. The announcement of the approval was made by Eknath Shinde in the Legislative Council.
Flashback of the Development Plan
As per the directive of the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court, the government appointed Shrikrant Deshmukh as a special officer on duty (OSD) to prepare the development plan. The bench had ordered the government to complete the entire process under Sections 25 to 30 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act. Under Deshmukh’s leadership, the draft development plan was prepared at an accelerated pace. The draft plan was published in the first week of March 2024. Within 60 days, suggestions and objections were invited from citizens. A total of 8,500 suggestions were received. To conduct a hearing on these objections, the state government formed a committee of four experts. It held hearings at the Smart City Headquarters for a month. After that, the final plan was submitted to the government on August 7.
DP will guide the city's future
The development plan will serve as a guiding document for the city's future. Previously, building permissions couldn’t be granted in certain areas, but now they will be allowed. Large-scale construction under the Gunthewari Scheme will be regulated. The road network can be further strengthened, and the municipal corporation will mark DP roads. In the future, there will be no need to relocate people from these areas. The approval of the plan is indeed great news for the entire city, said the municipal administrator G. Sreekanth.