Huda chief takes reins of town planning dept

To expedite the planning and execution of urban development works in the city, the Haryana government made some landmark decisions on Friday.

To expedite the planning and execution of urban development works in the city, the Haryana government made some landmark decisions on Friday.

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These pertain to two Haryana government departments - the district town planning (DTP) and the Haryana Urban development Authority (Huda).

As per the move, the government has asked officials to take all decisions concerning land planning at the local level. The new direction will apply on the senior town planner (STP) and district town planner (DTP) - two senior officials in the town planning department.

Now, both the officials need not travel to Chandigarh to report to the director general of the town and country planning department (DG&TCP).

"Now the STP and DTP will report to the Huda administrator," said the official.

"The two departments such as the DTP and Huda play a major role in undertaking development projects in the city at the local level, but they've acted as a deterrent to each other," said a senior Huda official.

"Huda administrator Praveen Kumar had requested the Haryana government to give him authority to control the local town planning department," added the official.

Several projects like NPR, SPR, CPR, Metro extension, waste to energy plant installation, granting licence to developers etc in Gurgaon, Manesar, Rewari and Pataudi have been delayed.

The landscaping of the city, developing new sectors, infrastructure development plan etc all as defined in the master plan will be looked after by the Huda administrator, who will now manage the affairs of the local town planning department.

"A meeting has been called in this regard by Huda administrator Praveen Kumar on Monday," said a Huda official.