Srinagar: District Development Commissioner Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Shah (KAS) Monday assumed charge as Vice-Chairman, Srinagar Development Authority (SDA). He has been given the additional charge following superannuation of Khwaja Farooq Renzu.
Shah was accorded warm welcome by the SDA officers and employees at a simple but modest function. He briefly interacted with the SDA employees assuring them of his full support in the betterment of the organisation in whatever capacity. He said steps would be taken to strengthen SDA setup so that it emerges as a vibrant developmental organisation.
He said SDA has a pivotal role in the futuristic planning and development of the Srinagar city and the organisation has to gear up to come up to the expectations of the people. He called for speeding up the process of midterm review of the Srinagar Master Plan, which is currently being done by SDA in consultation with an Ahmadabad-based Urban Planning Consultancy.
Shah said a proper inventory of the SDA assets, both land and commercial, should be maintained and nobody should be allowed to tress-pass the Authority’s properties. He also emphasized on strengthening of the Enforcement wing of the SDA to check Master Plan violations in and around the city. He asked the Revenue wing of the SDA to spruce up rent collection and, wherever needed, initiate legal action against defaulters.
Shah said he will take up with the Minister for Urban Development, who is also the Chairman of SDA, the major issues confronting the organisation including lack of manpower and stagnation of staff at various levels.
Prior to his new posting, Shah was DDC Anantnag (Islamabad) where his contributions was appreciated for the development of the district particularly famous tourist destinations including Pahalagam, Achabal, Kokernag, Chatapal, Daksum and Verinag in south Kashmir.
He has also served as the Director Tourism for over six years where his contribution to the tourism sector has been appreciated by the tourism players.
