Lucknow: Allahabad high court’s Lucknow bench has taken note of development authorities failing to earmark adequate space for garbage collection/disposal and installation of power transformers while preparing layout plans for cities, towns and residential colonies.The court said town planning must take into account not only existing requirements but also changing and future needs. It has ordered the registration of a separate suo motu PIL on the issue, which will be heard on Oct 16.A bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order while hearing a PIL. During the hearing, municipal corporation counsel Shailendra Singh Chauhan told the court that development authorities do not earmark space for garbage collection or dumping while preparing layouts. Similarly, adequate space is not left for installing transformers. As a result, transformers have to be installed along roads after colonies are developed, causing obstruction to traffic and inconvenience to residents.The bench observed that the issue was not merely related to town planning but also concerned the right of residents to a healthy, clean and safe environment. It said colonies developed by the Housing and Development Council and development authorities should have designated spaces for essential facilities from the planning stage itself.
