THE race of turning the urban areas of Nagaland into a concrete jungle with no attention to effective and proper planning has emerged as a major cause for concern in this tiny Indian hill state. A recent conference held in Kohima, the state capital, discussed these and various other related issues. Most speakers were of the opinion that lack of proper planning and coordination between various departments will turn the urban areas of Nagaland into slums in the near future. The minister for planning, coordination and urban development, S S Jamir stressed on the need for proper town planning in the state and promised all possible help from his ministry and the state government. Jamir cited examples of the city of Calcutta, state capital of West Bengal and Rome, Italy which, he said, showed how planning can improve the quality of urban life.

He lamented that in Nagaland, roads and various other civic amenities in the major urban centres: Kohima and Dimapur lacked proper master plans.