The city Corporation will ensure prominence for disaster mitigation and climate change while preparing its new master plan, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.K. Prasanth has said.
Inaugurating a special meeting of the working groups here on Thursday, Mr. Prasanth said the civic body’s development plan for the next two decades must incorporate measures to minimise the effects of climate change.
Pointing to the need to address the concerns of various sections of people, Mr. Prasanth said the master plan should include steps aimed at the welfare of the fishing community spread across 17 wards. Many among them lived under the threat of rampant sea-erosion. Several families in various wards, including Parottukonam, Manikkavilakom, and Vizhinjam, faced acute drinking water shortage during summer, despite a major portion of the city coming under the water supply network. Permanent solutions must be found for such recurring problems, he said.
The Mayor urged the councillors to learn from the mistakes of the contentious draft master plan 2031, which had to be withdrawn four years ago following vehement public opposition. “Certain inadequacies had crept into the previous draft plan. Several projects had been proposed in densely-populated areas sparking panic. There had also been apprehension regarding land acquisition proposals in wards such as Kattayikkonam and Attipra,” Mr. Prasanth said.
He said the suggestions and aspirations of the public should be taken into account while formulating proposals for the master plan. Transparency must be ensured at each stage. The Corporation must also take into account the developmental activities in the areas near the city.
Draft by October next
The members of 18 working groups, each focusing of various sectors such as agriculture, industries, drinking water, sanitation, environment, tourism, health, and energy took part in the discussions. The meeting decided to complete the land use and socio-economic surveys by December.