STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Golap Borbora State Institute of Panchayat & Rural Development (GBSIPRD), Assam, organised a two-day state-level workshop on regulating construction activities in rural areas, with particular focus on National Highways, State Highways and other PWD roads, at its Khanapara campus on August 25 and 26.
Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Atul Bora inaugurated the workshop in the presence of Additional Chief Secretary B. K. Chakravarty and senior officials of the department.
Bora stressed the need for planned and scientific development of rural areas amid rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and changing land-use patterns. He called for coordinated efforts to address unplanned construction and promote safer, sustainable and climate-resilient rural development.
Chakravarty called for a simple, practical and digitally accessible building by-law framework for rural Assam, while Assam Pollution Control Board chairman Arun Kumar Misra stressed environmental protection, waste management and community participation.
The workshop focused on a proposed framework to regulate construction along highways and PWD roads while addressing road safety, future widening, drainage, pedestrian movement, environmental quality and climate resilience.
Senior officials, planners, engineers, legal professionals, technical experts, academicians and representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and various departments participated in the deliberations. The concluding session highlighted key observations and recommendations for further refinement of the ongoing study.
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