Land use policy draft points to shift towards horticulture farming in TN

State plan panel submits draft Sustainable Land Use Policy, bats for holistic spatial land use

- T MURUGANANDHAM @Chennai

TWENTY years after the Tamil Nadu government devised a Draft Tamil Nadu Land Use Policy 2004, the State Planning Commission (SPC) has prepared a draft Sustainable Land Use Policy of Tamil Nadu (SLUP) keeping in mind multi-sectoral challenges in planning land use and new problems due to changing economic structure and environmental exigencies.

The draft submitted to Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday points out that Tamil Nadu appears to be shifting towards horticulture crops and Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Salem, Erode, Tiruchy, Dharmapuri, Tiruvallur and Namakkal are prominent districts for horticulture and floriculture. Hence, potential lands for horticulture should be identified and farmers in those regions should be encouraged through special schemes, the plan said.

The draft underscores the importance of a holistic spatial land use planning instead of piecemeal allocation of land for development projects.

The policy is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing critical issues such as deforestation, rapid urbanization, and water scarcity through integrated land management.

The policy underscored the need to factor in climate change and vulnerability assessment in land use planning and regulation in the context of global warming and climate change.

The policy has recommended evolving a special land use strategy to address urban expansion and outgrowth. The state should review the contemporary relevance of previous regional plans and revise or prepare new regional and sub-regional plans, which should be prepared for 15-20 years with a review and revision every five years on a rolling basis.