The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s draft master plan 2040, which proposes a land use pattern with 77% of the city’s area for built-up use, has earmarked special development zones considering the scarcity of land availability for various projects. The spatial zones, according to the plan document, are derived taking into consideration the future transportation development scenario.
Considering the controversies over the previous draft master plan which had to be withdrawn in February 2014 following widespread public protests in the outer areas of the city, the latest one has taken a more liberal approach as far as demarcating areas in which construction activities are restricted. However, the master plan has this time come in for criticism from the chamber of commerce and similar business-related bodies, who have criticised it as a non-progressive plan which does not consider the future developmental needs of the city.
Under the new master plan, about 7 % of the land area falls under non built uses. However environmentally suitable activities are permissible in these areas. Land reserved for conservation accounts for about 4 % of the land use. Special development zones, aimed at bringing around planned development, constitute about 1.5 % of the land use.
