Bahraich and Farrukhabad. The subregional plan of Meerut-Bulandshahr region a part of the National Capital Region is expected to be completed during the fourth five year plan. This project is a spill-over of the third five year plan programme.

Besides, the department has also to provide detailed designs in respect of various housing schemes, road improvement schemes, slum clearance schemes and schemes relating to utilities and services, community facilities etc., within the frame-work of a physical development plan. For this work the Government have created a Plan Implementation Unit under this department, to carry-out the work of 4 cities namely, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow and Varanasi of which master

plans have been prepared by the depart ment. This unit examines the building plans, layout plans etc. submitted by various local bodies private institutions and renders assistance to controlling authorities and also prepares detailed plans for these bodies/institutions on charges of certain fee as prescribed by the government, in accordance with the development pro-posals of the master plans.

Besides, the State government have earmarked Rs. 50 lakhs for urban develop. ment. The scheme under the urban development proposed to be taken-up will relate to those items which have not been covered elsewhere. Though this sum is very meagre in view of magnitude of the problems facing the bigger cities, yet this fund may act as catalytic agent in taking up items of urban development by the local bodies. It is a well known fact that the resources of our local bodies are too meagre to take up the execution of urban development in a planned manner. This fund may be utilized on short term remunerative projects in the first instance. The Town & Country Planning Department may help the local bodies in preparing the city development plans indicating the priorities of physical development so that the money spent on these schemes brings maximum benefit to the people and the meagre resour -ces are exploited to the fullest extent.

Urban Housing

The total deficit in housing in urban areas in 1966 was estimated to be 6.99 lakhs.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh have created a U. P. Housing & Urban Development Board under a statute in the year 1966. The above Board has, at present, taken up schemes in 16 towns viz., Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Dehradun, Meerut, Saharanpur, MoradaFaizabad, Gorakhpur, Aligarh and Jhansi. bad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Almora, The Town & Country Planning Department selection of is assisting the Board in schemes for housing and land development in those towns and also by drawing up paring designs for various categories of suitable group housing schemes and pre

houses.

The Government has also created an Apex Housing Co-operative Society recently. This Apex body is expected to disburse loans both for development of land and construction of houses for members of various societies.

The Town and Country Planning Department in the State has made significant contribution in solving the problems connected with rural housing. In 1958 the State government created a Rural Housing Cell in this department. The loan was sanctioned by the Government through Community Development Department and works were executed through panchayats. For propogating and making the rural folk conscious of the need for a healthy living and facilitating the construction of comfortable houses at low cost the rural housing cell brought out a literature of standard designs of houses for rural areas.

Although the rural housing cell was abolished in the year 1965, the Town & Country Planning Department has continued its assistance in the rural redevelop, ment process through preparation of layout plans for redevelopment of villages.

Most of the local bodies are, however,

Road Development In U. P.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest States in India and in such a large State, where long distances are involved with varying nature of terrain and modes of transport the roads constitute one of the most important means of communication.

In the backward regions of bills and Bundelkhand wherever the network of Railways is limited the only means of com. munication are the roads.

Our State's economy is primarily based on agriculture. Due to the "green revolu tion" which has considerably changed the -rural economy, the production of agricul tural commodities has increased manifold and there is now constant pressure for linking of villages to mandies or marketing centres by metalled roads so that production has easy access to markets. Statistics have proved that construction of roads in I rural areas brings more land under the plough reduces transport cost and increases manifold the potential resources of agrieultural and forest wealth.

An adequate and efficient road system represents a most attractive investment in a State because every additional motor vehicle put into use represents a revenue of more than Rs. 100 to the public exchequer in various taxes. Statistics show that expenditure on roads in this State has not increased in the proportion of their earnings. At the beginning of the Second Plan the revenue realised from motor transport and expenditure on road construction were nearly equal. But this balancing is no longer being adhered to. While the revenue from road transport has approximately increased from Rs. 591 crores to Rs. 3.795 crores in the past 10 years the expenditure on road has only risen from Rs. 223 crores to Rs. 860 crores approximately.

It is therefore, very essential that the revenue from road transport, including excise duty on fuel, lubricants and tyrestubes should be credited to a fund which

During the last three plans and three annual plans expenditure has been incurred on construction of new roads, improvement and reconstruction of roads and bridges. During the First Plan, a sum of Rs. 5.39 crores was spent and 2,388 km. of new roads were constructed, 3.381 km. of roads improved and reconstructed and 26 bridges completed.

In the Second Plan Rs. 25.12 crores were spent on Plan and non-Plan schemes. About 3,664 km. of new roads were constructed besides 784 km. of 'shramdan roads and 394 km. of metalled roads by local authorities were constructed, 2,457 km. of roads were improved and 90 bridges completed.