The Jagannath ghat along the Hooghly. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Calcutta, May 7: The government is set to give the Hooghly a grand facelift.

The face of the riverside is about to change with the government planning to restrict use of land and remove encroachments.

Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said the move is aimed at preventing unplanned and haphazard construction along the river.

?We want to stop its misuse. We regard the area along the river as the drawing room of the city and intend to make it well-decorated. We are not going to impose any ban on land use. Our sole intention is to ensure appropriate use of riverside land,’’ he said.

Permission from a competent authority will be mandatory to carry out any activity within 250 metres of the embankment.

Initially, a 16-km stretch between Cossipore and Metiabruz will come under the scheme. It will later be extended to another 60 km between Chinsurah and Budge Budge.

The urban development department has engaged a consultant, Partha Das and Company, to draw up a comprehensive plan.

Much of the riverside land that falls within 250 metres of the embankment has either been encroached upon or misused.

Apart from bathing ghats and crematoria, the banks are crowded with places of worship, abandoned buildings, godowns, shanties, factories and makeshift shops. Barring a small portion, where amusement parks have come up, there is insufficient light, bad roads and poor infrastructure. Some pockets have become criminal dens.

Urban development secretary K.S. Rajendrakumar said beautification of the riverside does not mean development of some parks and gardens only.

?We want to develop the riverside land in a way which will attract all sections of people, from schoolchildren to IT bosses. The riverside land will have multipurpose utilisation ? entertainment, office, trade and residential. There will be shopping malls, highrises, entertainment centres, IT complexes and restaurants. But everything will be built in a planned manner,? he said.

Fresh construction will be allowed only on vacant land. Some abandoned buildings and godowns will be demolished, while others might be relocated. There are some ancient buildings on the riverside, which will be restored and preserved according to heritage rules.

The government is also planning overall development of the area, including repair of roads, improvement of sewerage and arrangements for adequate streetlights. Private entrepreneurs will be roped in for the project.