Ondo govt commences master plan for major cities

Ondo State government said it had commenced preparation of a master plan for major cities in the state to make them fit into a modern day cities.Apart from this, government said it had mandated all primary and secondary schools and higher institutions in the state to plant trees in their environment to cater for the problems associated with climate change.The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Igbekele Daodu, speaking in Akure at the commemoration of the 2011 World Habitat Day, said the adoption of the master plan would also avert any untowards consequences of unplanned urbanisation.According to him, in order to achieve the development of the master-plans, an urban development policy had already been drafted by the state government and would soon be ratified and passed into law by the House of Assembly.He said the law, when passed, would 'control and guide things like management of urban utilities and services, urban renewal and slum upgrading, sanitation and urban development and community participation.'Other areas that the new law would touch include civic responsibility, urban wetlands, development/urban agriculture, urban security and governance and other relevant sectors.He disclosed further that the state government, in embarking on beautification of Akure and major urban centres, the channelisation of river courses and de-silting of the drainage systems, had in mind, the creation of an environmental-friendly urban settlements.The commissioner explained that the ministry would plant no fewer than 1000 different trees across the state starting from some streets of Ijapo Housing Estate, Akure.
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