The Financial Express 02.09.2010
Chandigarh: In a bid to decentralise the process of urban development, the Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday gave in principle approval to extend the jurisdiction of six developmental authorities of Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda to cover the entire state.
A decision to this effect was taken by Badal during a meeting with the chief administrators of various authorities held here.
Taking part in the deliberations, Badal asked PUDA to soon launch a housing scheme for rural poor to provide them free residential houses in the state. He also gave approval to develop urban estate over 139 acre of land in Gurdaspur.
It was also decided in the meeting that development authorities would now provide the services to the public at the local level for the change of land use, licensing of colonies, completion certificates, besides the disposal of grievances of plot holders and regulating process of urban development in the respective areas. Decentralisation of development authorities would also enable the concerned officers to focus their attention on the integrated growth of the areas in a cohesive manner, earlier it was difficult for officers at Chandigarh to take care the entire state.
Badal also directed the chief administrators of various evelopment authorities to ensure strict implementation of the master plans in the towns and cities under their jurisdiction to give further impetus to the planned urban development in the state.
He hopes that these master plans would not only ensure the integrated and planned development of these cities but also stall their unplanned and haphazard growth.
