COIMBATORE: The call for a new Coimbatore master plan, last revised in 1994, is getting louder with each passing day. Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODDISIA) is actively pursuing the demand and has submitting representations to ministers during their visits to the city.
CODISSIA president M V Ramesh Babu said that the revised master plan for Coimbatore is pending for more than two decades.
A master plan shows both existing and proposed roads, open spaces, plots for residential areas, agriculture, and industry.
"Only if the master plan is out, we can gain clarity on the usage of land. But the process is complex as it is done for the entire State," he said.
Ramesh said residential areas were mushrooming near industrial units of late and expressed concern that there would soon be demands to relocate industries citing noise pollution.
If there is a master plan, the process to construct an industrial unit and operating it would become simple, instead of going through a lengthy process to reclassify the land," he added.
CODISSIA is currently collecting details for land reclassification requests from its members to submit it to the Local Planning Authority (LPA), Ramesh said, adding that the government must create a buffer zone around the area earmarked for industries.
RTI activist S P Thiyagarajan said a revised master plan was necessary as it would curb the practice of converting agricultural land into residential plots, which is rampant in semi-urban areas.
Thiyagarajan said the master plan is a road map for the future that incorporates all developments that Coimbatore has currently witnessed.
"The plan published in 1994 did not include Annur, Sulthanpet, and others towns. The revised master plan must incorporate all the areas in Coimbatore, to pave way for the development," he added.
Secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause K Kathirmathiyon said, "Efforts were made in 2005 for a revised master plan but it not materialise. The master plan is supposed to be revised once in 10 years. However, officials failed to give attention to it. The new master plan should take into consideration developments that had taken place in recent years.
When contacted, Collector G S Sameeran said the master plan is under the process of revision. The draft has been sent to the government and feedback and suggestions were obtained, he added.