SRINAGAR, May 23: Jammu and Kashmir government today asked experts involved in revision of the master plan for the state's summer capital Srinagar to keep in mind the post-flood scenario in the state as well as the Centre's smart city programme initiative.
"The experts framing the document (master plan) should take cue from it (September deluge) so that the necessary mechanism viz-a-viz planning can be put in place to avoid such situations," Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of three-day seminar-cum-workshop organized by the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) to deliberate on Srinagar Master Plan, currently under preparation.
"We should take a cue from history where the planners would ensure that the advanced planning and remedial measures are put in place in order to avoid losses in natural calamities like floods," the Deputy CM said.
Singh underscored the need for making the new master plan more comprehensive so that it incorporates all the fundamental requirements of a smart city.
"The experts should come up with such a document so that it becomes a referral point for other cities of the country," he said.
The Deputy CM said the experts should take ecology, population and other related parameters into consideration while coming up with the new document so that it can be more specific to the needs of the people as well as the posterity.
"Care should be taken to ensure that it comes up as a model one and any lacunae should be removed so that people living in one of the oldest cities of the world get requisite benefits from it and the living conditions come up on par with the most developed cities of the world," he said.
SDA is reviewing Master Plan (2001-2021) to make it more broad-based, for which suggestions have been invited from experts of different fields.
