F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has principally approved the proposed District Land Use Plans for Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi and Abbottabad and directed the authorities concerned to come up with final proposals in consultation with the provincial administrative departments within one week time.
The proposed District Land Use Plans are aimed at providing policy guidelines for establishing a planned hierarchy of settlements, systematic growth of major infrastructure and services and undertaking integrated and coherent development of urban & rural areas in the province by ensuring systematic utilization of land, its allocation, development and management.
Chairing the 1st meeting of the Provincial Land Use & Building Control Council held here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister made it clear that all the departments would have to implement the proposed district land use plan in its letter & spirit adding that streamlining the utilization of land is the need of hour and we can no longer afford the haphazard and unsystematic use of land anymore.
Provincial Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Ishtiaq Urmar, Faisal Amin Gandapur, Special Assistant to CM Abdul Karim, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Senior Member Board of Revenue Zakir Hussain Afridi, Principal Secretary to CM Amjad Ali Khan and other members of the council attended the meeting.
Briefing about the various aspects of the proposed District Land Use Plan, it was informed that the plans have been prepared in accordance with the physical location, climate, geological situation, hydrology and water resources, population and demography of the aforesaid districts.
Similarly, keeping in view the additional demand of infrastructure development and services for the next 20 years, viable parameters and framework have also been proposed for undertaking sustainable development programs in various sectors including health, education, housing, industry, road communication and agriculture which will go a long way towards resolving inter-district planning and management issues. The participants were further informed that special focus has been given to the rural areas development which will certainly help to curtail migration trend to big urban centers.
Moreover, keeping in view the current objective condition of the province, flood prone areas have also been identified under the plan in addition to the proposed areas for new road networks, industrial zones, commercial centers, orchard and mining zones, model environmental villages and rural growth zones etc. The authorities told that District Land Use Plans are also being prepared for remaining districts on the same lines which would be completed by June 2023.
The Chief Minister has termed the proposed District Land Use Plan of vital importance and directed the quarters concerned to have an effective implementation mechanism for the purpose further directing them to establish grievances redressal cells both at provincial and district level in order to facilitate the departments and citizens. He also directed the authorities concerned to launch grand operation against encroachments on rivers, canals and other water ways across the province adding that these encroachments cause widespread losses to the life and property during flash floods.
