UP faces shortage of urban planners

LUCKNOW: Tasked with the job of creating regional plans for UP’s five key divisions, the conclave on regional planning exposed the desperate need to induct urban planners. In need of more than 1,500 planners, UP’s development authorities are working with less than 75 planners.
Chairman of the high level committee on urban planning of the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), Keshav Verma pointed out towards the gap in the regional plans of Varanasi, Agra, Jhansi and Lucknow cities, stressing upon augmenting the capacity.
“The urban redevelopment authority of Singapore, the country that has a population of 64 lakh, has a strength of 1,000 planners. Similarly, southern states and Gujarat are also extremely proactive in urban planning and have filled the gaps. UP needs to catch up quickly in order to implement its ambitious plans,” said Verma.
Additional chief secretary of the housing and urban planning department, Nitin Ramesh Gokarn said, “Efforts are on to recruit and hire urban and town planners. We are going to expedite the process of recruiting the required manpower.”
Verma pointed out before Varanasi commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma the need for walkways and to decongest the city.
Agra officials were directed to clean up the Yamuna. Verma told Jhansi development authority’s VC Alok Yadav to introduce a fleet of buses instead of planning a metro corridor. “Metro rail might not be financially feasible in a city like Jhansi,” said Verma.
Gorakhpur VC Mahendra Singh Tawar pointed out that “we need to include all stakeholders while planning the future of the city.”