Manali and its Sub-Region - Government of Himachal Pradesh

Background 1BackgroundThe Manali Vision Document is an outcome of a sequence of tasks initiated after thesubmission of the development outline proposed by the School of Planning andArchitecture and subsequent signing of agreement between the Government ofHimmachal Pradesh and School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.After the first visit to Manali for ground level assessment of existing conditions andsubsequent preliminary discussions with district officials, town administrators,elected representatives and government departments, the contours of awholesome vision for Manali and its sub-region were conceptualized. An Overallframework of development strategies as well as possible future directions ofchange were deliberated upon. Within the alternative choices of developmentsdiscussed, the idea of a poly- nodal city structure revolving around distinctive focalpoints of activity, engagement, image along with a movement strategy based on apublic transport oriented loop emerged as the preferred option. Existingopportunities provided by site- based ground conditions as well as some verypositive initial moves already made by the town administration (for e.g.Pedestrianization of a part of the Mall Road, decision to shift the existing busterminal to the city edge, re-alignment of existing NH-21 from within the heart ofthe town to the urban forest edge along the right bank of the river) allowed theformation of a town- level restructuring agenda.The preparation of the vision document involved a series of consultations, meetingsand discussions at various stages of its formulation held with various levels in thegovernment hierarchy .Some of the significant steps in the discussion process are listed below:Discussion of preliminary restructuring concepts for Manali town and subregionapart from ideas on Mall road with DC Kullu and SDM Manali on Feb7th 2010Presentation of preliminary vision ideas from sub regional level to ManaliMall Road level made to the Honorable Chief Minister of Himachal Pradeshand other state officials on the 7th Feb, 2010. Public display of drawingsrelated to the above vision ideas for inhabitants and visitors of Manaliagglomeration who had gathered for the inaugural ceremony of the Annualstate carnival of Manali Town. The ideas expressed in the presentation werewell received by the Honorable Chief Minister, officials, peoplerepresentatives and the general public alike.Discussion with chief engineer, executive engineer and assistant engineer of