Times of India Feb 22, 2015
Hyderabad:
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which plays a key role in planning the development of the city, will soon begin the challenging task of integrating various master plans developed by different agencies in the past.
Several master plans have been prepared previously, for instance for the Cyberabad Development Area, by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority. All such plans need to be integrated to develop one master plan for the HMDA region, the in-charge metropolitan commissioner and special chief secretary, Dr K Pradeep Chandra, told TOI.
"Each of the existing master plans was prepared at a different time. The city has also grown and it is a larger area now. It is time to integrate the existing plans and develop a comprehensive master plan," he said.
Pradeep Chandra said that this time around, the master plan will also take into account other development initiatives of the state government, such as the Information Technology Investment Region and other industrial development plans, to ensure the creation of a true master plan for Hyderabad.
"The other issue we have seen in terms of practicability is that the plan does not reflect the ground reality. If we say this is for a road, then we sometimes find there are already buildings or it goes through a water body. We want to make sure that what has been planned is right. The idea of a master plan is that once it is made, it has to be a little rigid. Once it is made, you do not want to change anything. If you don't do it well, then there is always somebody who comes and says you did not look at this. That is something we do not want to do," he said.
But sometimes exceptions are inevitable. We cannot take away the rights of people and modifications have to be made depending on the circumstances. The effort is always to stick with the plan, but when the need arises, some changes can be implemented, he said.
To avoid potential problems with the new master plan, Pradeep Chandra said that every aspect of the land use plan will be first verified on the ground to ensure that the area being set aside for a particular purpose is actually suitable for the need. "We cannot force a residential area to give up their homes just because something fits well in a plan," he said.
The HMDA has already called for expression of interest from consultants for the development of the master plan. The authority is also taking up the transportation planning for the HMDA region. They are also working with the HMWS&SB to see how the overall water supply and sewerage plans for the HMDA area should be.
"As part of the transportation plan, we are looking at transit-oriented development that will need to be economically viable. There are some gaps in the ORR that need to be completed. We also need to look at the management of the ORR and ensure all systems are in place," Pradeep Chandra said.
Hyderabad:
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), which plays a key role in planning the development of the city, will soon begin the challenging task of integrating various master plans developed by different agencies in the past.
Several master plans have been prepared previously, for instance for the Cyberabad Development Area, by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and the Hyderabad Airport Development Authority. All such plans need to be integrated to develop one master plan for the HMDA region, the in-charge metropolitan commissioner and special chief secretary, Dr K Pradeep Chandra, told TOI.
"Each of the existing master plans was prepared at a different time. The city has also grown and it is a larger area now. It is time to integrate the existing plans and develop a comprehensive master plan," he said.
Pradeep Chandra said that this time around, the master plan will also take into account other development initiatives of the state government, such as the Information Technology Investment Region and other industrial development plans, to ensure the creation of a true master plan for Hyderabad.
"The other issue we have seen in terms of practicability is that the plan does not reflect the ground reality. If we say this is for a road, then we sometimes find there are already buildings or it goes through a water body. We want to make sure that what has been planned is right. The idea of a master plan is that once it is made, it has to be a little rigid. Once it is made, you do not want to change anything. If you don't do it well, then there is always somebody who comes and says you did not look at this. That is something we do not want to do," he said.
But sometimes exceptions are inevitable. We cannot take away the rights of people and modifications have to be made depending on the circumstances. The effort is always to stick with the plan, but when the need arises, some changes can be implemented, he said.
To avoid potential problems with the new master plan, Pradeep Chandra said that every aspect of the land use plan will be first verified on the ground to ensure that the area being set aside for a particular purpose is actually suitable for the need. "We cannot force a residential area to give up their homes just because something fits well in a plan," he said.
The HMDA has already called for expression of interest from consultants for the development of the master plan. The authority is also taking up the transportation planning for the HMDA region. They are also working with the HMWS&SB to see how the overall water supply and sewerage plans for the HMDA area should be.
"As part of the transportation plan, we are looking at transit-oriented development that will need to be economically viable. There are some gaps in the ORR that need to be completed. We also need to look at the management of the ORR and ensure all systems are in place," Pradeep Chandra said.
