Dedicated departments for urban development

BANGALORE:  Minister for Urban Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and BWSSB S Suresh Kumar on Tuesday said that the state government is working towards having dedicated departments to ensure sustainable urban development.Speaking at the 27th national convention of architectural engineers on ‘Sustainable Urban Development - Challenges and Opportunities’, he said, “Urban development plays a major part in a country’s overall planning. It helps protect cities from the effects of global warming. This needs dedicated departments and the State government has already started work in this front.”In the context of sustainable urban development, Kumar praised the private sector for its participation in housing, albeit with caution. “It is good that the private sector is participating in housing, but affordability is a concern,” he said.“Slums are a deterrent to sustainable growth. Slums have to go and the government is working towards this,” he said.Dr A Ravindra, advisor to the Chief Minister on Urban Affairs, underscored the need for long-term urban plans. “The problem with our planning right now is that it lacks an insight into the future and is based on current situations,” he observed. Referring to traffic problem in urban cities, Ravindra felt that lessons need to be learnt from Europe.“In Europe, there is a restriction on private vehicles in order to promote the use of public transport. We need to create awareness among urbanites to use public transport more often,” he said.