Government sends back Auda draft development plan

The state government has sent back the draft development plan (DP) of Ahmedabad submitted by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda).

The urban development department (UDD) has sent back the draft DP for technical reasons. Now, Auda will have to pass the DP once again at its board meeting before submitting the same to the government for approval.

Auda had prepared the second revised draft DP for Ahmedabad and 69 villages under its jurisdiction and published it on February 1 for the first time. According to the Act, it allowed the public 60 days to submit suggestions and objections. The process was carried out twice as some or other minor changes were introduced by Auda after getting the suggestions/objections.

Auda had published the latest corrigendum in DP on July 1. So, it needed to take into consideration all the suggestions and objections submitted on or before August 31. However, as the deadline of submitting the DP was about to expire on August 10, Auda submitted the DP. However, the UDD wanted to ensure that none of the objections/suggestions was left out of the process.

So, it asked Auda to consider all objections/suggestions received till August 31, said D Thara, chief executive officer of Auda.

UDD secretary GR Aloria said the department had sent back the DP for technical reasons. “The step was taken as a precautionary measure to avoid any problem in case someone challenges it in future,” he said.

Now, Auda will inculcate 200-odd more suggestions/objections received till August 31 and approve the DP at its board meeting on Tuesday and submit to the state government again for approval.