The Kano State Government has commenced the review of its over 30-year-old Master Plan as part of efforts to restore orderly urban development, even as it disclosed that more than 200 illegal structures have been sealed across the state within the last one month.
The Director-General of the Kano Geographic Information System (KINGIS) and Chairman of the State Committee on Illegal Structures, Dr. Dalhatu Aliyu Sani, disclosed this during the committee’s latest enforcement exercise in Kano.
He said the existing Kano State Master Plan had remained without a comprehensive review for more than three decades despite rapid population growth, urban expansion and changing development realities.
READ ALSO: ADC Dissolves Kano Executives, Appoints Caretaker Committee
According to him, the review is intended to provide a modern planning framework that will guide physical development, improve land administration and prevent indiscriminate construction across the state.
“The Master Plan has not been reviewed for over 30 years. Considering the rapid expansion of Kano metropolis, it has become necessary to update it in line with present-day realities and international best practices in urban planning,” he said.
Dr. Dalhatu said the committee had intensified its enforcement operations against structures erected in violation of the state’s physical planning regulations, revealing that over 200 illegal structures had so far been sealed in different parts of Kano metropolis within the last one month.
He listed the affected locations to include Ahmadu Bello Way, Hadejia Road, Kano Eastern Bypass, Western Bypass, Gwarzo Road, Maiduguri Road, Nassarawa GRA, Yahaya Gusau Housing Estate, Old CBN Quarters and several other strategic areas of the city.
The committee also sealed an illegal structure built beneath a high-voltage electricity transmission line at Kundila along Zaria Road near Ahmed Musa Road, describing the development as a serious safety risk.
Dr. Dalhatu explained that many of the affected structures either lacked the required development approvals or were constructed on restricted areas, including utility corridors, road setbacks and other locations prohibited under the state’s physical planning laws.
He warned developers, property owners and investors to obtain all necessary approvals before embarking on any construction, stressing that the government would not tolerate violations capable of endangering public safety or undermining orderly urban development.
The committee chairman said the enforcement exercise forms part of the Kano State Government’s broader urban renewal programme aimed at sanitising the built environment and ensuring compliance with planning regulations.
He also called on residents to support the exercise by reporting illegal developments, especially structures erected on waterways, electricity transmission corridors and other prohibited locations.
According to him, every complaint received by the committee will be investigated, while enforcement actions will continue without fear or favour.
He maintained that the exercise is not intended to victimise individuals but to safeguard public infrastructure, protect lives and property and ensure sustainable physical development across Kano State.
The latest operation is part of a sustained crackdown that has recently seen the committee seal illegal commercial buildings, housing estates, filling stations and other structures found to have contravened planning regulations in different parts of Kano metropolis.