KP CM approves first urban policy

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Wednesday approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Policy.

An official handout said the chief minister chaired the second meeting of the Land Use and Building Control Council.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the first province that has its own urban policy.

The council also approved master plans for Mardan city, Wana Urban Areas (South Waziristan) and urban areas of Miranshah and Mir Ali in North Waziristan.

The policy has been prepared by the Urban Policy and Planning Unit and Sub-National Governance Programme after consultative effort spanning over 12 months.

The policy has inputs from both local and foreign experts as well as public input obtained through massive advertisement via print, electronic and social media, webinar, and seminars across the province.

The chief minister stressed the need for effective implementation of the master plans and directed the authorities concerned to come up with a pragmatic implementation mechanism within the next three months.

He added that the ultimate goal behind all this effort was to have a well-organised and useful land use and management system in accordance with the contemporary needs and requirements of the cities and urban centres in the province.

The meeting was a briefing about the major components and principles of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Policy.

It was told that the policy applied to all cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Urban Area Development Authorities and the authorities under the KP Tourism Act.

The policy targets will be reviewed after every two years till 2030, and then developed for 3-5 years on a rolling basis.

The policy encourages development of smart cities, having due consideration of social, environmental and gender considerations in city development.

The city administrators will have the flexibility to chalk out their own city management plans in accordance with the needs and requirements of their respective areas.

Key components of urban policy include: Land Use and Floor Area Planning; Affordable Housing; Economic & Real Estate Development; Municipal Services & Livability; Traffic & Mobility; Tourism in Cities and in the Northern Zone; Institutional Capacity Building to implement policy properly and Strategic City Management Planning.

The meeting was briefed about the master planning for cities and was told that the master planning of four cities, including Mardan, Wana, Miranshah and Mir Ali, had been completed whereas master plans of 16 other major cities of the province would be completed by March this year.

The master plans will make it easy for the Planning and Development Department to conceive, design, implement and monitor development schemes.

The master plans will ensure that the guiding principles of the provincial government regarding preservation of agricultural land and other green areas are not violated.

The master plans have been prepared keeping in view the projected population of the cities by 2042 and increasing demand of civic facilities in near future.

Current land uses and population density have been observed carefully and viable master plans have been finalized in consultation with all the stakeholders.