The State Government has been preparing master plans for a total of 169 cities and towns of the State, officials said on Wednesday. It has appointed an Ahmedabad based company as its Consultant which will complete the preparation of the master plan within three years.
Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday reviewed at his official residence the projects carried out by the State Housing and Environment Department, official sources informed. In the meeting, discussions were also held on the new settlements which are being created in the area under municipal corporation, municipalities, and nagar panchayats.
It was learnt that settlements are being created outside of the area of different municipal corporations including Raipur. Since the new settlements are not planned, residents have been facing different problems including supply of electricity and water. The State government had decided to create master plans for such cities and towns so that the settlement could take place with proper planning. Raipur city has also been included in this plan.
In the plan, outside area such as Saddu, Kachna and other nearby villages have been included in Raipur settlement plan. Raipur already has a master plan for several years but these villages were included at that time. Similar is the situation in other cities including Bilaspur. Sources said master plans have already been prepared for about a dozen cities.
The status of municipalities and Nagar Panchayats are no better. The Nagar Panchayats were earlier used to be Panchayats. They were accorded Nagar Panchayat status after increase in the population. So far the Nagar Panchayats number has gone upto 127. The government has decided to prepare master plans for the 127 Nagar Panchayats in the next three years.