The Hindu     30.03.2011

Master Plan: Chamber seeks focus on environment

Eco-friendly move: Even as infrastructure development is a major demand, the conservation of wetlands in Coimbatore is a key thrust area. – File photo: K. Ananthan

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, has sought identification of all the wetlands in the Coimbatore Master Plan to ensure their conservation as Coimbatore has several water bodies.

The chamber has submitted to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) several suggestions to the revised Coimbatore Master Plan and this is one of the efforts that can be taken up.

The Local Planning Authority (LPA) will accept suggestions and objections for the revised plan till the end of this week.

The chamber has also suggested that a comprehensive recreation infrastructure proposal focusing on eco-tourism should be mooted for the Coimbatore Local Planning Area.

Eco-friendly recreation projects and water conservation should be the focus. An expert group can be formed for the purpose.

“A Master Plan should talk of complete spatial planning and not just on land use classifications,” says architect Arun Prasadh, who was part of the team that compiled the suggestions and comments for the Master Plan. Urban environment is one of the key elements of a Master Plan.

The chamber has also suggested that the land use pattern for the local planning area should be brought under two broad categories: mixed and industrial land use.

The current Master Plan has not identified the mixed land use areas. The plan should classify at least select areas for mixed land use.

Urban nodes

The plan suggests eight urban nodes as part of decentralisation. But, some of these areas such as Thudiyalur and Kuniamuthur are already congested.

Smaller towns such as Idikarai, Thondamuthur, and Kadambadi should be chosen as the urban nodes.

The LPA should study the congested commercial areas for continuous building development. For instance, Oppanakara Street, Cross Cut Road, DB Road and NSR Road area are already well-developed commercial centres.

The chamber has also suggested development control rules and regulations for ordinary residential and commercial buildings.

The Master Plan should have an action, operating plan, implementation schedule and budget allocation for the proposed projects. The Coimbatore plan should have a vision for the city, objectives and scope of work, and regional planning as done in the Chennai and Hyderabad plans, according to the chamber.