Very soon the construction moratorium on the Local Area Plan (LAP) II of Damphu Town Planning in Tsirang will be lifted. The Plan is in its final stage and will be sent to the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement for endorsement soon. The Damphu Municipal highlighted this during the second Public Consultation Meeting last Thursday.
As per the Local Area Plan presented during the meeting, LAP II stretches from Damphu hospital till the Druk Petroleum Corporation’s fuel depot. Sitting over 14 acres of land, it also covers the core town area. Among the three areas the town planning is divided into, LAP II has the highest number of private lands.
“Unlike in LAP III, we have an overwhelming number of individuals wishing to construct houses in LAP II. Without a proper local area plan, we couldn’t provide the construction approval. The district did not have an urban planner and we had to rely on the MoWHS for the plan. However, from this year, we have our own district urban planner the RCSC placed,” said Tshewang Tenzin, the Principal Engineer with Damphu Municipal in Tsirang.
LAP II will have all public facilities such as roads, street lights after every 20 meters, sewerage system, and two recreational parks.
“Individual plot owners have to be satisfied with our planning system and if they all are satisfied then we are going to forward the plan to the MoWHS for endorsement which usually takes one to two months. And after reaching back, our Dzongkhag Administration will initiate for the construction of service road, footpath facility, street light, stormwater drainage and water supply. Then after that, the public can go ahead with their construction works,” he added.
Most landowners in LAP II are ready to start with the construction works and hope the longstanding construction moratorium is lifted soon. As per the plan, the number of floors per building will be limited to three. However, depending on the geographical location in some areas, the construction of buildings up to four storeys will be allowed.
“I gathered around 10 truckloads of sand but most went to waste. More than a thousand cubic feet of timber got spoiled as well. And of the five truckloads of stones I had kept ready, I could hardly gather a truckload. However, now, we are happy the LAP II reached its final stage. We are eagerly waiting to prepare for constructing buildings,” said Tshering Drukpa, a landowner in Damphu.
“If the works related to LAP II complete soon, we will have to ensure there is road connectivity. Accordingly, I plan to start constructing my house,” said Om Nath Kuikel, also in Damphu.
“There are many landowners who prepared to construct houses. Most of them want to complete the work before they age. Personally, I couldn’t organise it. But I will do so once the Plan is finalised,” added Tshering Dorji, also from Damphu.
The Damphu Municipal prioritised the construction of roads and drinking water distribution in LAP II in the next financial year. Putting other town amenities in place will depend on the progress of private constructions.
Meanwhile, the works for Local Area Plan I have come to halt due to the Coronavirus situation. The Municipal office expects to resume the works from next year. The areas between Damphu fuel depot and the Royal Audit Authority’s Professional Development Centre fall under LAP I.
Pema Tshewang
