Govt shelves proposal to shift civil secretariat to Budgam

Jammu and Kashmir government has shelved the proposal of shifting civil secretariat from city centre to Budgam district as was suggested in the draft Master Plan.

As the state administration council gave nod to the Srinagar Master Plan 2035, it has dropped the idea of shifting civil secretariat in the approved master plan.

   

“The idea of shifting civil secretariat has been dropped from the master plan. The approved plan doesn’t mention shifting the civil secretariat as there was opposition from bureaucratic as well as from political circles to this idea,” said a senior official of urban and housing development department.

He said that though from urban planning point of view, the idea of shifting secretariat holds weightage, “however there was large consensus among the monitoring and reviewing committees to shelve the idea.”

Confirming this development, chief town planner, Kashmir, Fayaz Ahmad Khan said civil secretariat as per the approved master plan 2035 will not be shifted anywhere. “Though the draft plan had proposed it, but there was consensus that it should not be shifted, therefore the civil secretariat will continue to operate from the current location.”

The draft plan had suggested shifting the civil secretariat to Nowgam, near the Railway Station, and using the secretariat building for accommodating all divisional and district offices. It had also recommended building apartment buildings in the vicinity of the proposed secretariat complex at Nowgam for accommodation of bureaucrats and other officers. Apartment accommodation will facilitate vertical and high-density housing.

The State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor, Satya Pal Malik has approved Srinagar Master Plan-2035 along with the recommendations by the Committee constituted by Government for the scrutiny of objections and suggestions received from stakeholders.

Master Plan Srinagar-2035 is a comprehensive planning exercise for ensuring sustainable development of the Srinagar Metropolitan Area spread over 766 sq. km. This is the third statutory planning exercise carried out in the last forty-five years to achieve city’s sustainable and sustained physical and economic growth.

The Master Plan has been prepared for a population of around 3.5 Million (35 Lakh) by 2035. The Master Plan has a Planning Area of 766 Sq. Km which stands notified vide SRO-429 dated 21.10.2014 including the municipal areas of Srinagar Municipal Corporation and that of Budgam, Ganderbal, Pampore, Khrew ULBs and additional 160 villages as outgrowths in 12 tehsils of Six districts viz; Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Bandipora and Baramulla.

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