Bhubaneswar, 27.02.2023: Minister of Higher Education of Odisha, Shri Rohit Pujari on Saturday calls to make town planning more inclusive and sustainable which can accommodate all sections of society, specifically the urban poor.
Talking at the valedictory ceremony of the 71st National Town and Country Planners Conference organized by the Institute of Town Planners conference on the theme of “Challenges for Urban and Regional Planning towards sustainable development’ at Bhubaneswar, He said, “Cities need to be more inclusive and sustainable. We have to think about the poor section of the society like domestic bits of help, street vendors, laborers and slum dwellers in the city planning process. We need to focus on affordable housing and better amenities for them. While calling to use globally recognized best practices on city planning, he has also urged town planners to think from local perspective and said that challenges here are different from other parts of the world.
On this occasion, Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Shri Vijay Amruta Kulange said that “Time has come to think about a small town and cities. We have to make these cities beautiful, inclusive, sustainable, and liveable. In Odisha our urban infrastructure is emerging like anything specifically in Bhubaneswar.”
He said that we are working on how to monitor Bhubaneswar through smart applications and Odisha through ITC centers. We have started from a sanitation point of view on how to monitor development activities. He added. Shri Pradeep Kumar Jena, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, Government of Odisha, also addressed the need for the development of Small and Medium Towns, and also mentioned taking into consider the aspects of resilience, while planning of cities.
Other dignitaries present at the occasion were, Dr. L P Patnaik, Chairman, of Odisha Regional Chapter, Shri Milland B Patil, Former Vice President, of ITPI, Prof Dr D S Meeshram, President of ITPI, and lastly vote of thanks given by Shri S B Khodankar, Former Secretary General, ITPI. Earlier during the second day of conference several technical sessions were held on the theme of Reforms in Urban Governance, Innovative approaches to Planning education, and Experiences of Smart city’s missions in Odisha. Lastly, Prof V N Prasad National Best Thesis Awards and Prof Dr. D S Meshram National Best Thesis Awards were given by the dignitaries.