Gujarat Urbanisation

In a major move to urbanize the state’s adivasis, the Gujarat government has decided to pump in Rs 300 crore to modernize 15 towns in the eastern tribal belt.A high-level meeting , presided over by chief minister Narendra Modi, worked out a detailed time-bound plan on how to make these towns “urban growth centres”, where the adivasis could hope to break away from their backward past and move towards a more confident and urbanized future.None of the towns chosen, significantly, has a population of more than one lakh. Though each has a municipality of its own, the biggest town chosen is Dahod which has a population of 95,957 while the smallest town, Waghai, has a population of just 6,020.Despite having an urban façade, modern urban facilities have eluded these towns.The issue was clinched after a senior state urban development department official, K Srinivas, showed how the absence of stormwater drainage, sewerage network, scientific landfill sites, poor road facilities and inadequate supply of drinking water had failed to make these towns and their periphery modern enough to compete with the rest of Gujarat, where urbanization has been taking shape rather quickly.The presentation said that a major hurdle towards converting these towns into modern urban centres is the law disallowing tribal land to be transferred to non-tribals. Plans have been worked out to develop small Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estates in some of these towns. On Modi’s suggestions, a few more towns, especially those with tourist value, Ambaji, Shamlaji and Saputara, are likely to be added to the list. The move led to some apprehension among participants that the massive investment to the tune of Rs 300 crore would lead to “considerable imbalance” vis-àvis non-tribal towns, which too need to be developed. State health minister Jay Narayan Vyas said that some of these towns spend just a few lakh rupees per year. “With such massive inflow, other towns may feel left out,” he told the meeting. Modi replied that he wanted these towns to develop “growth engines” of their respective region, hence there was nothing wrong with such massive investment. Officials favoured convergence of different departments and private sector participation in developing these towns. It is planned to bring in contribution from each of the 10 schemes of the Rs 15,000-crore Vanbandhu project, floated last year for the tribal area.

In a bid to ensure that small towns are not left out in the cold in the wave of urbanization, Gujarat Urban Development Company (GUDC) is investing Rs 750 crore in infrastructural revamp of 10 towns and municipal corporations.These towns and small cities, despite being important centres of agricultural trade, industry and co-operative sector hubs and cultural centres, have not had adequate facilities come their way. The towns and cities identified are Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Patan, Vadnagar, Anand, Bharuch, Surendranagar, Gandhidham and Veraval-Patan stretch. The development of infrastructure will be undertaken in two phases, with investments of Rs 375 crore in each phase. GUDC, an arm of the state department of urban housing and development, has already called for infrastructure design consultants and construction supervisors. Infrastructure to be provided includes water supply, sewerage, roads, stormwater drains, social infrastructure, public buildings and slum upgradation projects. The small town-rural link is our priority as good infrastructure in small towns can help develop land resources and boost agricultural produce.Besides, these towns can absorb surplus rural population which would otherwise crowd big cities. A detailed study on current status of infrastructure would be undertaken for all 10 towns and municipal corporations. It would include benchmarking current infrastructure, proposed works, preliminary design reports and social and environmental assessments. Detailed assessment would involve preparation of tender documents, engineering surveys, soil investigation and quality control. The tendering process will take place in the next three years. In the first phase, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Patan, Vadnagar, Anand and Bharuch would be covered. The second phase would deal with Jamnagar, Junagadh, Gandhidham.