UP CM mulls planning board for Lucknow's development

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is mulling a proposal to set up a planning board on the lines of a Metropolitan Board for Lucknow.

With the population of Lucknow rising and the city expanding in an unplanned manner, the chief minister has directed officials to set up a board.

He said the area under Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) should be expanded formally for which a proper Board will be required.

A government spokesperson said the population within LDA limits is 45 lakh and there is ongoing, unplanned expansion of the city which needs to be curbed.

Yogi Adityanath has also pushed for simplification of the process of property transfer within development authorities.

He said while the present rate of conversion charge is 1 per cent of the asset concerned, it needs to be reduced and the present, complex process should be simplified. He added that in the event of legal succession or implementation of a will under the housing department, the mutation fee should be a maximum of Rs 5,000. A maximum fee of Rs 10,000 should be charged depending on the value of the free hold or gift property.

In case of leased assets, 1 per cent mutation fee may be charged, he said.

The chief minister has also said that the work on the Lucknow Green Corridor special scheme should be started within two months.

He asked officials to identify slums around the Naimisharanya Guest House located on the banks of Gomti.

Residential slums should be relocated and given homes under PM Awas Yojana, toilets and linked with other government schemes.

The famous Butler Palace Lake should be developed as an Amrut Sarovar.

He has also directed that for better implementation and planning, town planners should be appointed in each development authority and municipal corporation.

The chief minister said that assistance should also be taken from students of IIT and state government technical institutes.

Projects should be planned keeping in mind the demands of the next 50 years. Rainwater harvesting should be promoted, he said.

Yogi Adityanath said that rules should be formulated for water charges. No water fees should be charged where an authority is unable to provide water. He said water fees should be revised annually in accordance with income tax department's cost inflation index.