Govt yet to draw up master plan for Doon's rural areas

In the absence of a master plan for areas under the Doon Valley Special Area Development Authority (DVSADA), vast areas of the valley are witnessing haphazard construction activities.

The state government came out with a master plan for the city areas under the control of the Mussoorie Dehra Dun Development Authority in November last, but has so far remained non-committal on the remaining areas of the Doon valley, which are mostly rural.

A total of 2,600 sq km area comprising 190 villages of Dehra Dun district and 135 villages of Tehri district fall under the DVSADA, which include small townships like Selaquie, Doiwala, Herbatpur, Vikasnagar, Sahaspur, Rani Pokhri, Dhaunaulti, and Manduwala. There, a big chunk of land has been reserved for forests.

Official sources said town planners were working on the master plan for the rural areas of Dehra Dun for which there is no time frame. “They (town planners) may take a year or two,” said an official.

The master plan for the DVSADA ended in 2001. Since then, construction activities are in full swing in the Doon valley but in a haphazard manner in the wake of confusion over the land-use pattern.

Since there is no clarity on the land-use pattern, big construction companies are also keeping away and not indulging in land transactions.

The DVSADA had also submitted a plan to the government for a housing scheme for the industrial town of Selaqui three years ago. Under the plan, the DVSADA wants to acquire nearly 8 hectares of land at Selaqui. But no decision has been taken so far by the government.

The main reason behind the government’s dillydallying on the Selaquie project is said to be the sharp criticism it received on the Greater Doon project, which was shelved following a prolonged agitation by the locals.

Experts said the master plan was necessary for these areas because the land there is highly fertile and used for agriculture crops like sugarcane, rice and wheat. There are vast orchards of mangoes and litchis too.

“Unless, the government comes out with a new master plan, encroachments would continue to plague the areas,” the official said.