A special meeting of the Palakkad municipal council held here on Saturday passed a draft master plan of Palakkad town.
The new master plan will be Geographical Information System (GIS)-based and under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Prepared with the support of the Town Planning wing, the master plan will be sent to the government for its approval. Once approved, the municipality will publish it on its website.
Until now, the municipality followed the master plan passed in 1986. The people had to approach the High Court for various documents.
The municipality got Central funds under the AMRUT scheme, and the new master plan will be GIS AMRUT.
The master plan had 18 categories, including housing, commercial, park, tourism spot, cemetery, farmland, and flood-prone areas. It has marked bridges, roads requiring widening, rail lines, village, block and panchayat boundaries.
As many as 32 special projects were mentioned in the master plan. Among them were a bus-stand near Government Medical College, a truck terminal, sewage treatment plants and open markets.
During discussion on the draft plan, the councilors demanded inclusion of some important ponds, exemption of highly populated areas from wetland category, and inclusion of areas under the Palakkad Development Authority in the master plan.
People can register their protests and complaints in two months after the master plan is published on the website. The council will examine the complaints and suggestions and will send the modified master plan to the government for its final approval.
Municipal Vice Chairman E. Krishnadas said that the municipality would not be able to shell out an annual rent of ₹75 lakh as demanded by the Revenue department for the municipal slaughter house functioning on the revenue land. He said the matter was being taken up with the government, and an exemption was sought.
Municipal chairperson Priya Ajayan presided over the meeting.
Ruckus over pat for Modi
The meeting, however, witnessed some unruly scenes as the members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) attempted to manhandle BJP councilor N. Sivarajan.
The UDF members were provoked when the ruling BJP members congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on sanctioning funds under the AMRUT scheme. The UDF members alleged that the BJP had insulted a former Prime Minister.
They staged a protest in front of the dais as the chairperson dismissed the meeting after passing the agenda. However, the ruckus continued for some more time with the UDF members showering their anger on Mr. Sivarajan.
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