KL Report
SRINAGAR
Mohammad Shafi Rather (IAS) Tuesday assumed charge as Vice-Chairman, Srinagar Development Authority (SDA). After assuming charges he said that steps would be taken to strengthen SDA setup so that it emerges as a vibrant organisation vis-à-vis development of Srinagar city.
Rather was accorded warm welcome by the SDA officers and employees and he interacted with the SDA employees assuring them of his full support in the betterment of the organisation in whatever capacity.
As per a statement Rather has said that SDA has a pivotal role in the futuristic planning and development of the Srinagar city and the organisation has to gear up to come up to the expectations of the people. He called for speeding up the process of midterm review of the Srinagar Master Plan, which is currently being done by SDA in consultation with an Ahmadabad-based Urban Planning Consultancy.
Rather has also took an extensive review of the Master Plan revamp and called for completion of the process in a time-bound manner. He has stressed for the need of transparency in the Master Plan revamp and taking on board various stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive developmental roadmap for the City.
He has reviewed the functioning of various other wings of SDA including Land Management, Enforcement, Engineering, Finance and Revenue wings of SDA. He said, “A proper inventory of the SDA assets, both land and commercial, should be maintained and nobody should be allowed to tress-pass the Authority’s properties.” He also emphasized on strengthening of the Enforcement wing of the SDA to check Master Plan violations in and around the city. He asked the Revenue wing of the SDA to spruce up rent collection and, wherever needed, initiate legal action against defaulters.
Rather has said that he will take up with the Minister for Urban Development, who is also the Chairman of SDA, the major issues confronting the organisation including lack of manpower and stagnation of staff at various levels.
Prior to his new posting, Rather has served as Director Education Kashmir and Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC).
