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By Vincent Anikwushe
THE Delta State Government is to revoke allocated but undeveloped plots of land that have been converted to mechanic workshops and block industries in major towns and cities across the state.
The Commissioner of Lands, Surveys and Urban Development, Hon. Chika Ossai dropped the hint during a working visit to the Urban and Regional Planning Board (URPB) Office, Asaba, State Land Use and Allocation Committee Office, Asaba, and the Town Planning Office, Ibusa, Oshimili North Local Government Area.
He decried a situation, where those who were allocated plots of land by the state government had failed to develop their lands within a given period, adding that converting such plots of land for other purposes was a negation and violation of the Urban and Regional Planning Laws of the state.
The commissioner pointed out that the conversion of such undeveloped plots of land to mechanic workshops and block industries had not only defaced the cities but also distorted the original master plan of the towns and cities.
Ossai, however, advised the owners of the undeveloped plots of land to do the needful, saying that the mechanic workshops and block industries were eyesores and do not speak well of the aesthetics of our urban centres.
The commissioner, who also frowned at the distortion of the original master plan of Asaba, said that necessary machinery were being put in place to restore the master plan of the capital city and other towns in the state, saying that Asaba as the mirror with which visitors assess development in the state should be given a facelift that befits her status as the capital of oil-rich Delta State.
He commended the staff for their commitment to duty, just as he enjoined them to shore up the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so as to increase the revenue base of the state and advised the staff to shun lateness and absenteeism, saying that the state government has introduced clocking machine system to checkmate the ugly trend, warning that whoever acts contrary to the laid down rules would face severe sanction. In their remarks, the General Manager, Urban and Regional Planning Board, Mr. Peter Amaduobogha, the Area Planning Officer, State Land Use and Allocation Committee, Mr. Charles Egba, and the Area Planning Officer, Town Planning Office, Ibusa, commended the commissioner for the working visit, describing the visit as a morale booster.
While assuring of their commitment to duty, aimed at curtailing as much as possible illegal and bad development that does not conform with the existing Urban and Regional Planning Laws of the state and boosting the IGR of the state, they listed the challenges of their offices to include shortage of staff, lack of utility vehicles, security, lack of computers and accessories, among others.
