Bumthang is finally expected to see proper town planning after the completion of a master plan which took three years to be finalised. The master plan was jointly prepared by the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement, and dzongkhag administration with the technical support from Switzerland.
The new town will be in Dekiling. The Bumthang’s Dzongda, Sangay Thinley, said the development Kurjey Lhakhang area. He said basic infrastructure like internal road and plots to construct houses are already in place. The new town will extend till Jalikhar in the south. It was identified due to its proximity to the airport and the road. The plan doesn’t include area in garpang which was once proposed in the Dzongkhag Tshodgu.
“Now we must immediately have to conduct a consultative meeting with the relevant stakeholders and the public.” The Dzongda said this was decided during their last Dzongkhag Tshogdu.“We must discuss the master plan with the public and make them aware of the plan.” Sangay Thinley said since the new town is to be exemplary they need to get feedbacks from the public. “After completing the consultation we will focus on the implementation of the plan according to the budget that we receive form the government.”
He said the plan will be executed in phase wise. However the general works such as developing sewerage system and internal road should be done first to avoid complications later.
But before all of this, the Dzongkhag along with the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement will have to prepare a local area plan to implement the master plan. In doing so, some shops and houses in Chamkhar town will have to be relocated, most probably to Jalikhar, as they lie in flood prone area.
The master plan includes construction of footpaths, bicycle trail, commercial and residential houses, sports complex, and multipurpose hall, among others. The plan is supposed to have been prepared keeping in mind the huge number of tourists visiting the Dzongkhag.
