Abuja, Nov. 4, 2015 (NAN) The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has called for the review of Abuja master plan in order to facilitate rapid development of the City.
Chairman, House Committee on FCT, Rep. Herman Hembe (APC-Benue) made the call on Friday in an interactive meeting with officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA.
Hembe, who decried the continuous distortion of the Abuja master plan, said that the land swap policy failed to provide affordable housing and other infrastructure in the city.
He said that developers of mass housing scheme do not provide necessary amenities such as neighborhood recreation centres, fire service stations, among others.
Hembe said that the original master plan of the city was designed in a way that the land use infrastructure would be properly coordinated.
“However, subsequent governments abandoned this principle and as such have allowed series of distortions on the implementation of the master plan.
“Presently, distortions to the master plan are very clear with evidence of distortions in the green belt, encroachment on sewage lines, water pipelines and into highway corridors,’’ Hembe said.
He further expressed worry over the development of residential buildings on plots allocated to educational institutions and recreational services, saying that the practice had become the order of the day.
The Chairman of the Committee, however, urged the Minister of FCT, Alhaji Muhammed Bello to work assiduously to develop the satellite towns in view of the need to decongest the municipal city.
According to Hembe, poverty is palpable in the FCT as only two per cent of the FCT residents are established to have income of N50, 000 annually.
“Whereby 50 per cent of families in the 858 communities earn between N20, 000 and N50, 000 annually and 39 per cent earn between N10,000 and N20, 000,’’ he added.
Hembe advocated for improved transportation system that would ease transportation problems frequently experienced by commuters and residents.
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He called for an improved waste management system that would guarantee a clean and healthy city.
Earlier, Bello expressed optimism that the FCTA was committed to an improved city.
According to him, a lot needs to be done to develop FCT.
The Minister, however, said there was need for a review of the laws crucial in facilitating rapid development.
“A lot of developments still needs to be done for us to have a city we are proud.
“And in achieving this, we need to review some of the laws as they are no longer in tandem with the requirements of a fast developing city.
“The responsibilities are enormous, but by the grace of God and your goodwill we will make the city better than we met it’’ Bello said. (NAN)