The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) would set up an environmental cell to focus on sustainable development practices in construction and land development activities.
Notably, the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) of Bhubaneswar has proposed environmentally-sensitive zones (ESZs) or open space use zones, which are vulnerable and very prone to flooding. Development on such land needs a careful and judicious approach.
To further reinforce the sustainable approach of city planning, the BDA has introduced such enabling provisions regarding water sensitive urban design in the BDA (Planning and Building Standards) Regulations, 2018 which has come into force earlier in May this year. This regulation has provision for establishing of an environmental cell in the BDA.
The BDA has floated an advertisement to recruit professionals and experts for establishing of the cell. Experts from different fields and expertise would work as a team towards the environmental improvement of the city.
As per BDA’s advertisement, the cell shall have three environmental planners, one expert on water conservation and management and one urban design expert. A senior level officer will head the cell.
The formation of the cell was necessitated with large-scale problems encountered recently with water-logging and urban flooding across the city and within the BDA jurisdiction due to unwanted urban growth in ESZs. The proposed move would thus enable BDA to have proper planning and future methodology on how to go about and also to contain the situation so that urban flooding would be managed.
The team would also work on creating beautiful water bodies for recreation facilities.