ITANAGAR, 28 Jun: Urban Affairs (UA) and Land Management Minister Balo Raja urged the officers and officials of the urban development (UD) department to work as a team “to achieve greater targets for the department and to make the department’s presence felt in all the districts of the state.”
Addressing a meeting with officers of the department at the DK Convention Centre here on Friday, the minister advised the department to liaise with the MLAs and DCs concerned “in case of any difficulties in connection with land availability for waste management, etc.”
Raja also stressed on the need to “accelerate the DPC processes for filling up the vacant positions in the department.”
He directed the officers to “substantiate with convincing supporting documents, justifications and plans in your proposal for consideration of government for increase in budget allocation.”
UA Commissioner Vivek Pandey highlighted the obligations of the UD department in developing the towns and cities of the state. He advised all the field officers to conduct regular meetings of the DUDA and get the master plans of the towns which have already been prepared approved.
Underscoring the importance of proper planning, he cited the example of big cities and towns in the mainland, especially Shimla (HP), where scarcity of drinking water is being experienced, compelling the people to leave the cities and towns.
Referring to the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Pandey directed all EEs to “strictly ensure submission of reports and data related to OA No 606/2018 with respect to legacy, solid and liquid waste.”
The EEs were further directed to submit proposals for setting up ‘eco-parks’ in the district HQ/towns with “provisions for O&M for self-sustenance.”
UD CE Taring Darang delivered a presentation on “the background of the formation of the present UD department,” and appealed to the minister and UA adviser Techi Kaso to “take up with the government the matter of rationalisation of allocations which is necessitated due to increase in number of notified towns as well as rise in public aspirations towards a better ease of living and most importantly, keeping in view the directives of the NGT.”
Kaso stressed the need to focus on effective and practical proposals “which are in larger public interest.” He urged the department’s officers to examine estimates and proposals meticulously before submitting them to the government.
Among others, UA Secretary Nyali Ete, senior officers and officials of the zonal office, and all the field executive engineers were present at the meeting.
