Town planners in state seek their due role

BHUBANESWAR: With town planning emerging as the most important component of urban development, there is a call for giving city planners a bigger role in the State. Planners are of the view that they have been left out of urban planning process in Odisha where there is enough scope but the existing system does not allow them to operate. For over a decade there were no fresh appointments of town planners in the State but whenever things go wrong, they receive the flak, said experts at a function to mark the World Town Planning Day, organised by Regional Chapter of Institute of Town Planners, India. Senior town planner Debendra Mishra said there was a strong need to introduce town planning in the academic curriculum. Universities should start a course on Town Planning to meet its growing needs in days to come. Currently the State is short of Town Planners to be placed in various cities. Without these town planners, cities will continue to function without any direction. Town planning is good when it takes care of everyone but if it diverts from goal, it is likely to give rise to corruption, he added. Experts said locally groomed urban planners are contributing their professional skill outside the State and even at the international level but in Orissa, no level playing is offered. Many outside agencies were given the task of preparing master plans without having exposure to local culture or ethics and most of them end up producing just reports. Besides, the eligibility criteria to participate in bidding in State government projects is pegged so high that locals find it difficult to compete. On the occasion, Executive Director of Local Governance Network Piyush Ranjan Rout said over the years the profession has limited itself to approval of building plans but it is about time both the government and town planners looked beyond. The present master plan practice in the State needs to be more flexible as planning is a constant process and if not handled properly, it will give rise to speculation in land prices and disrupt growth. It is important that present practice of master plan suggestion and objection phase should be made three dimensional to make it more comprehensible.