Bhopal Master Plan 2047 Faces Massive Opposition As 2,000 Objections Filed In One Day, Total Reaches 3,800
The draft Bhopal Master Plan 2047 faced mounting opposition on Thursday, with the Joint Residents' Struggle Committee filing around 2,000 objections in a single day at the Town and Country Planning (T&CP) office. The total number of objections has risen from around 1,800 to approximately 3,800, as residents, farmers and other stakeholders challenged several provisions of the proposed plan. The committee demanded transparent hearings and resolution of objections before the plan is finalised.
Residents have objected to Clause 15.38, which provides for regularisation of non-residential activities in residential premises, and Clause 15.39, relating to Market Street in Arera Colony. Concerns were also raised over floor area ratio provisions affecting the Upper Lake catchment, green spaces and tiger movement corridors. Residents of Misrod objected to a proposed 45-metre road passing near Khasra No. 205, and farmers from Mugalia Chhap warned that agricultural land across 66 villages could be affected by proposed land-use classifications.
Traders will gather at the T&CP office in Vitthal Market on Friday at 10.30 am to submit joint objections on the plan's potential impact on businesses. Farmers who were stopped by police at Neelbad staged a sit-in and sought a one-month extension to file objections.
BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said farmers' objections had been forwarded to the T&CP and the collector, and that the concerns would be discussed at a meeting. T&CP assistant director Indu Tripathi said objections were invited within the prescribed 30-day period and stakeholders would be called for hearings.
