Land-grab key hurdle to master plans: minister

KABUL): Urban Development Minister Hassan Abdulhai on Sunday said masters plans designed for provincial capitals and district centres could not be implemented due to growing incidents of land-grab across the country.

Abdulhai and Kabul mayor Mohammad Yunus Nawandish were summoned at the upper house to brief senators on progress being made in the execution of master plans in cities.

Some lawmakers complained that some provincial capitals had been ignored in connection with master plans.

The urban development minister said his ministry had designed master plans for major cities and first grade provinces. The plans approved would be sent soon to the provinces concerned for their implementation, Abdulhai said, but did not elaborate.

He said his ministry was working on master plans which would be executed in first grade districts where such plans had not been executed so far.

Without going into details, the minister said land-grab incidents remained the major hurdle preventing the implementation of master plans.

He said his ministry had a prepared a strategy aimed at preventing land-grab incidents and that the strategy would be sent to the Council of Ministers for approval soon.

Abdulhai said after the strategy was approved by the Cabinet, the Urban Development Ministry would announce its policy on how to treat individuals involved in lang-grab.

Lawmaker Gul Ahmad Azeemi called illegal occupation of public and private land a huge challenge facing the people of Afghanistan.

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