Our Reporter Dimapur, Nov. 25 (EMN): Nagaland recorded urban population growth rate of 67.38% as per the Census 2011, which is highest in the country (national average rate of 31.80%), informed Urban Development Director, A Chenithung Lotha, adding that urban centres in the state will be unmanageable if urbanisation explodes at this alarming rate. Speaking at the “Nagaland urban infrastructure development project” stakeholder consultation meet organised by the Urban Development department at Tourist Lodge, Dimapur, on Friday, the bureaucrat said urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace across the world, including Nagaland. He said that urbanisation has positive impacts including livelihood opportunities, better healthcare and education facilities, and better communication that enhance quality of life, and at the same time has negative sides like slums, unequal development, traffic congestion, pollution and stress, unaffordable housing, increasing crime rate, etc. Developmental challenges The urban centres, the official pointed out, are facing numerous developmental challenges such as lack of development control, guidelines and tools like master plans and building byelaws, leading to haphazard and unplanned urban sprawl. Peculiar land-holding system with constitutional conflicts, lack of resources in municipal, fragile geological conditions and challenging terrain pose as challenges to development. “Due to very...