A consultative meeting on the Study of Nagaland State Urbanization Strategy 2025–2050 was held at the DC’s Conference Hall, Chumoukedima on April 17.
The meeting was organized by the District Urban Development Office under the Department of Urban Development and was attended by officials from the District Administration of Chumoukedima, Dimapur, Niuland and from various line departments.
Additional Director, Urban Development, Petevilie Khatsu, who chaired the meeting, delivered the welcome address and highlighted the purpose of the meeting. He informed that the Urban Development Department is in the process of formulating an Urbanization Strategy for the State of Nagaland, with the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) as the nodal agency and funding support under the Techno Economic Development Fund (TEDF).
He stated that the study aims to formulate a comprehensive Urbanization Strategy for Nagaland covering the period 2025-2050, focusing on planned urban growth, infrastructure development, economic expansion, and sustainable urban management. He further added that 12 towns have been identified as potential urban centres for the study, namely Kohima, Dimapur, Chumoukedima, Zunheboto, Niuland, Tuensang, Mon, Meluri, Mokokchung, Tuli, Jalukie and Bhandari. He emphasized the importance of planned and sustainable urban development and called for active participation and inputs from all stakeholders.
During the meeting, Professor, Utpal Sharma of MaRS Planning and Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad gave a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on the background study of urbanization in Nagaland. He highlighted that rapid urban growth has led to challenges such as poor land use planning, inadequate infrastructure, traffic congestion, unregulated settlements and environmental concerns.
He further pointed out that the State’s economy continues to be largely agrarian with a growing service sector, while the industrial sector remains underdeveloped. He also addressed issues relating to ineffective land use planning, lack of statutory master plans in most urban areas and limited financial capacity of Urban Local Bodies.
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Highlighting the need for a comprehensive urbanization strategy, Sharma emphasized the importance of addressing infrastructure gaps, improving regional connectivity and promoting sustainable and community-driven urban development.
He also presented specific challenges in the Greater Dimapur Planning Area, including congestion in core urban areas, haphazard commercial development along major roads, lack of hierarchy in road networks, absence of adequate amenities and open spaces, and unregulated peri-urban expansion.
During the deliberations, the need for a proper master plan and planned urbanization was emphasized as being of utmost importance to address the growing challenges in urban areas of the State. Officials from various departments shared their inputs and suggestions for effective planning and implementation.
Additional Director, Urban Development, Petevilie Khatsu, in his concluding remarks, stated that more consultative meetings would be held in the future to further deliberate on the urbanization strategy and ensure inclusive and sustainable urban development in the State.
