Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday stressed on the need to formulate region-specific policies for urban planning, especially for the Northeast due to its peculiar topography and geographical constraints.
Delivering the inaugural address at the ‘North East States Conclave on Urban Planning’ here, he highlighted the importance his government has put on urbanisation, particularly in Guwahati.
Sarma called upon policymakers to take into consideration the peculiar topography and geographical constraints of the Northeastern states while formulating urban planning and development policies.
He emphasised the need to depart from the often-practiced “one size fits all” philosophy while formulating policies as what is workable in one region may not provide fruitful results in another.
He expressed hope that while formulating national policies, policymakers would consider drawing “regional and sub-regional policies” too.
The chief minister said Guwahati has the potential to transform itself into the ‘Gateway to South-East Asia’, and necessary works and planning in this regard have been undertaken at a massive scale for the last couple of years.
He said urban planning in Guwahati required crossing numerous barriers as there is very little scope for expansion of the city’s geographical expanse owing to natural barriers such as rivers, hills, reserve forests and water bodies.
Sarma also referred to the state government’s tie-up with Singaporean consultancy firm Surbana Jurong for the development of the city.
Delegates from the Northeastern states, chairman of the High-Level Committee of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry Keshav Verma and Urban Planning expert PSN Rao were among those present at the programme, an official statement said.