Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri today announced the much-awaited Dehra Dun master plan-2025. The plan, which leaves out the heavily congested areas from its purview, sounded a death-knell for the famous basmati rice zone around the city. The master plan, the first after the new hill state came into being in 2000, envisages the development of 14,639 hectares of land in the city with the inclusion of 7,650 hectares of agriculture land for further expansion.
Experts said except for a couple of expressways, flyovers and bridges, the government has not given any major push to improve infrastructure in the unplanned city that is plagued by overpopulation and traffic congestion. Out of 35,867 hectares of total space for which the master plan has been prepared, 5,306 hectares of area has been utilised for residential purposes, 431 hectares for commercial and 281 hectares for industrial use.
Significantly, over 22,000 hectares of the Dehra Dun basmati rice zone at Majra and other areas have also been included in the master plan due to their rapid urbanization. “The land use pattern of Majra and other areas is going to be changed,” said Khanduri. Among the other key features of the master plan include construction of two new inter-state bus terminals, 45 local bus stands and broadening of 583 hectares of existing roads and development of 585 hectares of new roads in the city.
A 50-metre wide expressway is also being proposed to connect the city with Jollygrant Airport, which was also expanded recently.
There is also a proposal for building a multipurpose ‘mandi’ in the city. Construction of five 100-bed hospitals and provision for 250 million litres of drinking water are also included in the new plan. For attracting tourism, the government has proposed new amusement, botanical and bougainvillea parks in the city. There is also a proposal to revive the tea gardens in the city.
