more-in The ground-level works for preparing the master plan for the city have finally begun with a pilot land use survey this week. The initial work on the master plan, which began early in 2017, was supposed to have been finished by December last year, but delay in allocation of funds and non-availability of satellite images contributed to the delays. Considering the backlash that was received for the draft master plan 2031, which had to be withdrawn four years back, the Town Planning department and the city Corporation are ensuring that the public is taken along in every step of preparation. This June, the Town Planning department and the local body had chalked out rough schedules for the ward-level consultations, but with massive floods hitting the State, all these were shelved. “The pilot land use survey began in a part of the Sasthamangalam village this week. The master plan comes under the Union government’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), which has set different norms on the survey to assess land use patterns. This is new to us too. So, for the pilot survey, we have surveyors with experience on the ground who will calculate the number of days and the practical difficulties in the full land use survey. We will need at least 120 surveyors for the full survey,” said a Town Planning department official. Parallel to this, student volunteers of the National Savings Scheme (NSS) will take up the socio-economic survey. The official said the master plan can be finalised by October next year. Since the National Remote Sensing Centre made available satellite images of the city after a delay of more than 1.5 years, the deadline set for AMRUT could be relaxed. A mobile application and a website will be launched to collect the opinion of the public on the preparation of the master plan. Suggestions can be given ward-wise, as well as sector-wise. The opinions of the public will be taken in both stages, initially to know their aspirations and finally, after the preparation of the proposal, to know whether any changes should be made. On Saturday, the Corporation will hold a special committee meeting of the technical team, leaders of all parties, Standing Committee Chairpersons and other experts to discuss the plan for the ward-level meetings. “To avoid problems similar to that had cropped up last time, we are planning a wide campaign to ensure the participation of the public at all levels in the preparation of the plan,” said a Corporation official.

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