The Hindu 28.12.2011
Healthy urban area distribution envisaged
District Urbanisation Report released
Future thrust on urbanisation along the east-west
corridor and connectivity along the eastern stretch of the district will
impart a healthy spatial distribution of urban areas of Kannur,
according to the District Urbanisation Report (DUR) prepared by the
Department of Town and Country Planning.
The DUR,
released by district panchayat president K.A. Sarala at a function here
on Tuesday chaired by District Collector Anand Singh, shows the
urbanisation trend and pattern of development of the district in the
present as well as in future. The study of different growth parameters,
infrastructure and facilities has been used to derive the present trend
of urbanisation of the district, while the future growth pattern is
conceived from the study along with a future connectivity pattern,
according to officials in the District Town Planning Unit here.
When
contacted, Deputy Town Planner K.V. Ranjith said the DUR was a
preparation for the Integrated District Development Plan (IDDP) for the
district. The district planning committee (DPC) of Kollam district is
the first DPC to prepare the IDDP. This model of development planning,
sanctioned by the State government, has been extended to the districts
of Alappuzha, Thrissur, Idukki, Palakkad, and Wayanad, he said adding
that the DUR provides a framework for the works to be done for preparing
the IDDP in the next phase.
The report says that the
production sectors including agriculture and industrial sectors in the
district are showing a declining trend in the district. The only sector
which shows growth is the service sector, it says adding that around 60
per cent of urban population depends on the service sector for their
livelihood. Even the rural areas are slowly abandoning the primary
sectors, it finds.
Population density
The
highest concentration of population is seen in the local bodies
situated in the periphery of the National Highway and in the coastal
region of the district. The major urban areas of Kannur and Thalassery
show a negative population growth rate. The tendency of immigrants to
the urban centres to settle in the periphery of urban areas rather than
within may lead to undesirable spread of urban area and conversion of
agricultural land in rural areas for residential and other
non-agricultural purposes, the report says.
The land
use and its concentration pattern in the district show that compared to
other districts in the State, especially to the northern districts,
Kannur is having major concentration of areas under agriculture and
plantation. Agricultural and plantation areas cover about one-third of
the geographical area here. The report also shows that there is a
potential for development of primary sector to some extent.
Kannur
is no exception to the urban-rural continuum in the entire State. The
report finds that the district shows a high level of urbanisation when
compared to the State average.
The urban areas of the
district show a lower growth rate of population whereas the rural areas
surrounding the urban towns shows significantly higher growth rate
indicating possible out-migration of people.
Out of 87 local bodies, 38 are listed as urban as per census and they include six municipalities and the Kannur cantonment.
