THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new master plan for city development proposed by the corporation has drawn flak from various quarters. Several organisations in the district criticised that the provisions in the plan will not only slow down the growth of the city but will also affect future developments.
According to the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), Trivandrum Agenda Task Force (TATF), and Awake Trivandrum (AT), enforcing the draft master plan before considering the public’s opinion will cause regulatory uncertainty and affect the investors’ confidence.
“The current master plan is more than half a century old, and hence, there is a need for the new plan to be futuristic. We need an innovative master plan that will use the available land for the development of the city efficiently.
Other available resources should also be utilised in the best way possible. However, the proposed draft plan is non-progressive and appears to be the handiwork of some officials who are determined to sabotage the future of the state capital region,” said TCCI president S N Raghuchandran Nair.
He said the master plan should have a long-term vision regarding the city’s growth, define implementation strategies, establish performance indicators and be flexible to accommodate the changing circumstances and trends. But that is not what we see in the current draft plan.
According to TCCI secretary Abraham Thomas (Joji), applying the draft plan as a binding document before finalising the master plan will create uncertainty for investors, developers, and businesses. “They will hesitate to make long-term investments or commitments if the regulatory framework is uncertain or subject to imminent changes,” he said.