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Kerala cabinet okays urban policy panel
A draft urban policy report of the central government was published in 2018 which asked the states to form their own rules as it is a state subject
The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday approved the formation of a comprehensive urban policy commission whose recommendations and findings will play a key role in the development activities planned in the state for the next 25 years.
The promise of an expert commission to deal with the challenges of urbanisation, which officials say the first in the country, was made in the state budget earlier.
According to the National Population Commission, over 92.8 percent of the area in Kerala will be classified as urban by 2035.
A draft urban policy report of the central government was published in 2018 which asked the states to form their own rules as it is a state subject.
“The work of the commission will be helpful in developing a global perspective on urbanisation in Kerala. As a state highly affected by global warming and as a region undergoing a highly complex urbanisation process, this (work of Commission) will help in understanding the many facets of urbanisation,” a release from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
“As part of the urban policy formulation, provisions for financial support are available in projects like Rebuild Kerala, the project related to German bank KfW, Kerala Solid Waste Management scheme and Amrut. Grants earmarked for this purpose by such agencies are intended to be used for the functioning of the Commission in a manner that does not create new financial burden,” the government release said.
The urban policy commission, which will have a tenure of one year, will be headed by M Satheesh Kumar, an expert in the field and senior associate professor at the Queen’s University Belfast in the UK. Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar and E Narayanan, former faculty at the CEPT University in Ahmedabad, will serve as co-chairs of the commission.
