The need to harness the benefits of emerging technologies for land-use planning in Kerala was brought to the fore at a seminar organised on Tuesday to discuss strategies for rebuilding the State in the aftermath of the recent floods.
S.S. Ganesh, Chief of Agriculture Division, Kerala State Planning Board, who delivered the keynote address at the technical session of the programme, organised jointly by the Haritha Keralam Mission and Kerala State Land Use Board, stressed the need for moving into a real-time data management system, possibly an Internet of Things (IoT) multi-layered platform that enabled effective management.
Learn from negatives
“We must learn from our shortcomings in managing the natural calamity. It is high time that we established flood-level markers across the State to monitor the variations in water levels round-the-clock. Kerala could emulate the success reaped by Andhra Pradesh where the technological advancement has already been implemented,” he said.
Comprehensive data
He also called for creating a comprehensive data warehouse and data management system that was accessible to the public as well as all departments. “While many departments have compiled land resource data for their specific purposes, little effort was being made to share them for the benefit of each other as well as planners and researchers,” Mr. Ganesh said, adding departments must join hands to find integral solutions in various domains including land use and agriculture.
C.S. Renjith, development adviser to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, called for adopting a holistic view for planning land utilisation. The prime focus must be on ensuring water flow all round the year to boost the State’s development prospects, rather than excessively depending upon the monsoon season.
He also called for creating greater awareness regarding land use among youngsters.
