Draft Madurai Master Plan released for public perusal
Suggestions and corrections required to be made to the draft need to be carried out within 40 days; In 2041, the district will have 11 lakh more people and the development of industrial sectors is essential to generate jobs by then, say officials
The draft of Madurai Master Plan 2041 was released by the Directorate of Town and Country Planning at a meeting held at the Collectorate here on Wednesday for the perusal of public and trade bodies.
Collector M.S. Sangeetha, who presided over the meeting, said that suggestions and corrections required to be made to the draft should be carried out within 40 days. Officials who presented the master plan said that by 2041 the district’s population was expected to grow by 11 lakhs and the development of various industrial sectors was essential to generate jobs for the surging population.
While Information Technology (IT) sector was expected to grow in the district, the growth of industrial sector was not on par with what it was expected in the previous Master plan, the officials said. “The main boost for Madurai’s economy is hotels and restaurants through the tourism sector. So concerted efforts must be made to improve the tourism sector in an innovative way,” they said.
“As calculated, by 2041 three lakh persons would be in need of jobs. As agriculture is one of the important job providing sectors in the district, more cold storage units and value addition centres could be established to improve the potential of agricultural sector,” the officials said.
Airport expansion was crucial for Madurai as without which transport of goods, especially perishables, cannot be undertaken in a big way.
Representatives of MADITSSIA and Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed their view that the time given for the course correction was not enough. “We are not communicated properly about the meetings and also there were lot be studied regarding the classification of industrial and residential areas,” they said. They demanded allocation of a huge chunk of dedicated land for setting up industries as the growth of this sector was abysmal in the district. The arid land along Madurai Thoothukudi National Highway was ideal to be developed as an industrial corridor as it will make exportimport easier.