Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project
Encyclopedia
The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project is an initiative by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
to develop the Sabarmati
riverfront in the city of Ahmedabad
, India
.
The Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) in May 1997 with a seed capital of Rs. one crore
and charged it with the responsibility of developing the Sabarmati Riverfront.
The project has encountered delays, one of which has been due to the Sabarmati changing from a seasonal to a perennial river due to access to water from the Narmada after the completion of the Sardar Sarovar project. However, the process of obtaining land for the development, through clearance and reclamation has been substantially completed.
Frequent changes to this plan have escalated the project cost from Rs 361 crore in 1997 to an estimated Rs 1,100 crore.
According to them, the peak discharge in the Sabarmati in August 2006 was between 260,000 and 310000 cuft/s, which caused floods that washed away hundreds of hutments. However, Gujarat state irrigation department measured a peak flow of 550000 cuft/s in 1973. Officials claim embankments being built along both the banks will protect the entire reclaimed area, including resettlement sites, from floods, a statement that has been criticised as unsubstantiated.
The EPC plan assures slum dwellers secure tenure, access to roads, infrastructure services and a 2–3 km proximity to their present location, to maintain livelihood sources. In 2005 however, Girish Patel, a social activist in Ahmedabad, filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court, arguing that the scheme would in fact disrupt livelihoods. Acting on the petition, on March 8, 2005, the court issued a stay order on eviction and called for policy documents, when formulated, for prior approval.
planned as a self-financing project. The revenues would be generated from the sale of proclaimed land. project includes Walkway
development, Road development along River, Promenades, Garden
, Construction of 4000 houses under slum
rehabilitation
, Amusement Park
, Golf Course
, Water Sports park and Construction of Kotarpur Weir.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949, is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad.-Vision:...
to develop the Sabarmati
Sabarmati River
The Sabarmati River is a river in western India and one of the biggest rivers of north Gujarat. River Sabarmati is one of the major West flowing river of Gujarat which originates from Dhebar lake in Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of Rajasthan and meets the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea...
riverfront in the city of Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) in May 1997 with a seed capital of Rs. one crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
and charged it with the responsibility of developing the Sabarmati Riverfront.
The project has encountered delays, one of which has been due to the Sabarmati changing from a seasonal to a perennial river due to access to water from the Narmada after the completion of the Sardar Sarovar project. However, the process of obtaining land for the development, through clearance and reclamation has been substantially completed.
Inception
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) set up the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL) in May 1997, with a mission "to revivify the city centre by reconnecting it to the river". The AMC appointed the Environment Planning Collaborative (EPC), an Ahmedabad-based urban planning consultancy firm, to prepare a plan.Initial recommendations
In the first phase, EPC identified a 9 km stretch of the riverfront extending from Subhash bridge to Vasna barrage and proposed to reclaim 162 hectares (400.3 acre) of the riverbed. SRFDCL planned to sell or lease out a part of it to finance the project. In 2003, it extended the project to cover a 20 km stretch—from the Narmada main canal to Vasna barrage.Frequent changes to this plan have escalated the project cost from Rs 361 crore in 1997 to an estimated Rs 1,100 crore.
Design problems
The average width of the Sabarmati channel was 382 metres (1,253.3 ft) and the narrowest cross-section 330 metres (1,082.7 ft). To develop the riverfront, srfdcl had uniformly narrowed the channel to 275 metres (902.2 ft), ensuring this constriction did not affect its carrying capacity, according to officials.According to them, the peak discharge in the Sabarmati in August 2006 was between 260,000 and 310000 cuft/s, which caused floods that washed away hundreds of hutments. However, Gujarat state irrigation department measured a peak flow of 550000 cuft/s in 1973. Officials claim embankments being built along both the banks will protect the entire reclaimed area, including resettlement sites, from floods, a statement that has been criticised as unsubstantiated.
Land Use
Srfdcl plans to sell 21 per cent for residential and commercial purposes and rest of the land will be used to set up promenades, informal markets, gardens and to extend the road network. A portion of ten per cent has been reserved for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers. A 1997 EPC study of the estimated 10,000 families living along the riverbank concluded that 4,400 were to be resettled and rehabilitated. In 2003, the Gujarat government transferred land to amc, stipulating that resettlement and rehabilitation was to follow epc recommendations. This has been challenged as a severe undercounting. A survey in 2003 by Swapan Garain of the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurship Management, Mumbai, established that the number of slum households along the riverbank was 14,555, of which 6,293 needed to be rehabilitated.The EPC plan assures slum dwellers secure tenure, access to roads, infrastructure services and a 2–3 km proximity to their present location, to maintain livelihood sources. In 2005 however, Girish Patel, a social activist in Ahmedabad, filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court, arguing that the scheme would in fact disrupt livelihoods. Acting on the petition, on March 8, 2005, the court issued a stay order on eviction and called for policy documents, when formulated, for prior approval.
Perennial status
SRFDCL's intention to cash in on the new perennial status of the Sabarmati by keeping water in the course throughout the year in the 10.5 km city stretch also caused apprehensions. The river used to be seasonal, retaining water for two to three months. According to the eia, maintaining a water depth of 1 m at Subhash bridge will require a continuous flow of 108 to 140 mld from October to June. As of now, surplus water in the Narmada main canal is being diverted to ensure this. But given that Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam, responsible for Narmada water allocation, has no agreement with srfdcl, Sabarmati's perennial status may be threatened unless AMC shells out.Project details
Project is undertaken with a prime objective of environmental improvement and provision of housing for the poor who living in life threatening conditions along river bed. The project has beenplanned as a self-financing project. The revenues would be generated from the sale of proclaimed land. project includes Walkway
Walkway
In US English, a walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. These include sidewalks, footbridges, stiles, stairs, ramps, paseos or tunnels...
development, Road development along River, Promenades, Garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
, Construction of 4000 houses under slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
rehabilitation
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, Amusement Park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
, Golf Course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, Water Sports park and Construction of Kotarpur Weir.