Sajidah Yousuf
Srinagar, Aug 16: The urban population in Kashmir will surge by 2.55 million in two decades, reveals a roadmap of a new master plan.
The Master Plan-2035 public policy document, states that the 2035 population estimates for the towns made in the master plan and for remaining towns worked out on the basis of existing Annual Average Growth Rate (AEGR).
The AGER indicates that the Valley will have an urban population of 5.5 million in comparison to the existing urban population of 2.95 million—an increase of 2.55 million in two decades.
“From these figures, the Srinagar Metropolitan Region (SMR) will have a population of about three million excluding the floating and tourist populations,” it reads.
The figures further reveal that the ‘Greater Anantnag’ will grow into a major city with around 50,000,0 population
Stating the framework for regional development, the draft for the SMR 2035 reads, “Well managed urbanization is a necessary condition for economic transformation and change.”
It also states that the juxtaposition of the 2015 urban population figures and the settlement hierarchy with 2035 is indicative of large scale urbanization in the Kashmir Valley with Srinagar retaining its primacy in the region.
“However, the scenario will drastically change in next two decades which will see unprecedented urbanization in the whole region including the Srinagar Metropolitan Region,” reads the draft.
The SMR-2015 states, “The trend is towards a balanced urbanization with small and medium towns contributing significantly towards the growth of urban population.”
