Himachal to bring all urban bodies under planning area

For ensuring planned development of the urban areas in Himachal Pradesh, the state government has proposed to bring all urban local bodies under the planning ambit, a minister said Monday.

"The government intends to ensure that residents of the urban areas get all civic amenities besides developing these areas in a systematic and planned manner," Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma said in a statement.

He said so far 33 urban local bodies had been notified under planning area and the remaining 14 would soon be brought under its ambit.

Sharma said the draft Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act of 2013 has been published and suggestions and objections have been invited from the general public.

He said the provision would be made in the rules for not charging any planning fee from economically weaker sections and BPL families.

It has also been proposed that the minimum plot area for construction of houses would be decreased from 60 square meters to 40 square metre to benefit these sections.