To assist urban local bodies, the departments of Urban Development and the State Town and Country Planning in taking action to conserve and preserve rivers, water bodies, and flood plains, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in the month of May published the "River Centric Urban Planning Guidelines", the Ministry of Jal Shakti said on Thursday.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha regarding River conservation masterplans in cities, the Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel said, "The National Water Policy, 2012 includes a section on conservation of rivers. It also mentions that encroachments and diversion of water bodies must not be allowed and restoration must be promoted to the extent feasible."
He informed that realizing the significance of preserving the flood plains and ensuring planned development in the vicinity of rivers, the Guidelines on River Centric Urban Planning has been circulated by MoHUA to all the States/UTs, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
"Further, the National Mission for Clean Ganga, in order to mainstream river sensitivity into long term processes have urged Urban Local Bodies to incorporate river conservation plans when they prepare their City Master Plans/Development Plans. A guidance document titled "Strategic Guidelines for making river-sensitive Master Plans" has also been developed to help city planners integrate river cleaning into the Master Plans," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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