HP plans to use drones for tracking illegal structures

A WOMAN TOWN PLANNER SUPERVISING A DEMOLITION DRIVE WAS RECENTLY KILLED IN KASAULI BY A HITEL OWNER

SHIMLA :At a time when killing of a woman town planner supervising a demolition drive in Kasauli sent shockwaves and brought spotlight on unauthorised constructions in the state, the Himachal government is contemplating using drones to monitor illegal structures in urban areas.

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur suggested departments to explore possibilities of using drones to keep a tab on illegal structures.

“Measures to control illegal structure in Himachal should have come much earlier, but we are trying to regulate them now,” Thakur said, addressing a conference on artificial intelligence organised by Himachal Pradesh Council For Science Technology and Environment.(himcoste).

He added, “I was informed that the council has mapped Shimla town using drones. It could be useful for checking illegal mining and felling of trees in the state as well.”

HIMCOSTE chairperson Tarun Kapoor said artificial intelligence will be the largest creator of jobs in the next few years.

Director, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, Dr Anurag Aggarwal gave a detailed presentation on artificial intelligence and human intelligence.

He said Intelligent Infrastructure and artificial intelligence can handle most definable tasks in governance.

He said artificial intelligence can also play a key role in the field of medicine since medical knowledge was expanding with the expansion of artificial intelligence .

Director, CSIR Central Electronic Engineering Research Institute Pilani, Rajasthan, DR Santanu Chaudhary also gave a presentation on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Progress’.