WORRIED that the Jos Master Plan in the capital of Plateau State is still unattended to, the Plateau State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Alhaji Dayyabu Garga, has appealed that the bill for the implementation of the Greater Jos Master Plan still pending before the Plateau House of Assembly should be looked into.
Bearing in mind that the immediate past administration developed a new master plan to curb the prevailing decay in the city planning and development and the disorderly growth of Jos-Bukuru metropolis, Garga said that the Governor Simon Lalong-led administration could not implement the plan because of the absence of a law backing it.
He said the bill is still before the State House of Assembly and when it is passed into law and assented to by the governor, its implementation would begin.
“We are pushing for the bill to be passed into law because there is an urgent need to correct the anomalies we are witnessing in urban development. We have slums within the city that are supposed not to exist and you cannot just start building at random where there are no access roads or sewage,” he said.
Garga noted that in well-planned settlements, one was expected to have access roads, good sewage systems, well-arranged electricity and other social amenities. He said that some residents have built houses on waterways, thereby obstructing a free flow of water and causing flood.
According to him, if there is proper planning, people would not build in flood-prone areas. Garga said that the state government has identified alternative areas and layouts for people affected by the new master plan to relocate to. “If you are asked to leave where you are, there should be an alternative place for you to go and build your house.
“Government is out to safeguard lives and property, we cannot ask you to leave your place of abode without relocating you to an alternative layout. As soon as such options are available government will enforce and implement the new plan,”he said.
According to him, if there is proper planning, people would not build in flood-prone areas. Garga said that the state government has identified alternative areas and layouts for people affected by the new master plan to relocate to.
“If you are asked to leave where you are, there should be an alternative place for you to go and build your house.
Government is out to safeguard lives and property, we cannot ask you to leave your place of abode without relocating you to an alternative layout. As soon as such options are available government will enforce and implement the new plan,”he noted.