ગુજરાતી
English
The cost of the project was to be paid by selling land, no one is ready to take the land
Although this project proved to be successful for the entertainment of the people, now plans are being made to make the business successful
Ahmedabad, 7 December 2024
Rs. 1981 crores have been spent for the construction of cement banks of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. Another Rs. 1 thousand crores are planned to be spent. But the income from this has been only Rs 15 crores. There are plans to build other 22 projects. So this cost has increased to Rs. 5 thousand crores. When Sabarmati Riverfront was built, its cost was fixed at Rs. 1200 crores. The government decided to sell their land to recover the cost. However, not even a single square meter of land has been sold. Thus the Sabarmati Riverfront project has proved to be a complete financial failure.
5.50 lakh cubic feet of water comes every second. However, it has been wrongly designed to hold 4.70 lakh cubic feet of water per second. The river has shrunk from 382 metres to 263 metres. In such a situation, people’s lives can be in danger anytime. Narmada water is being illegally dumped in the Sabarmati river. Many slum dwellers living in bad conditions near the Pirana Garbage Hill have not been given houses by the government even today.
Despite this weak aspect, the riverfront has proved useful for the city in many ways. It has saved a lot of man days by reducing the city’s traffic problem. Also, the city has become an economically and socially well-utilised riverfront. Now another Rs. 800 crore project has been put up.
A convention, 5 thousand square metre cultural plaza and a business centre will be built on an 8 acre – 13 thousand square metre plot near Tagore Hall and Event Centre in Paldi on the Sabarmati Riverfront at a cost of Rs. 792.50 crore. The state government will spend Rs 500 crore and the municipal corporation Rs 500 crore. 292.50 crore will be spent.
A large building for the citizens will be a group of buildings designed for conferences, industrial shows etc. Which will have a large uninterrupted display area. There will be restaurants and other facilities here.
It will have destination wedding, 4 thousand square meter exhibition, 300 room hotel, 600 to 800 seat amphitheater, 1 thousand car parking, 1500 people performing theater, 300 to 400 people theater dome, 20 meeting rooms.
Within two and a half years of getting approval, an international level convention center of 4 thousand square meters will be ready. The work has been approved in the Khadi Committee. It will be sent to the state government for approval.
There is a riverfront multilevel car park nearby.
A TP road connecting Ashram Road will be developed.
It will become an ideal center for cultural and business activities. The Sabarmati Riverfront is expected to be an important landmark, boosting tourism, business and cultural affairs in the region.
Promoting domestic and international business growth. Creating a unique opportunity to establish Ahmedabad as a leading business and tourist destination. The development is also seen as a significant step towards strengthening the city’s role as a regional cultural and economic hub, offering infrastructure that matches the demands of growing globalisation.
The project is designed to incorporate eco-friendly features and energy-efficient systems. It will be a model not only for Ahmedabad’s business and cultural landscape but also for future urban development.
Vibrant Gujarat can be showcased here
The iconic Tagore Hall and the National Institute of Design, India’s leading design institute, are next door. International conferences can be held in which. Which will also add new modes of transport like monorail, tram, water taxi and cable car in future.
Will strengthen the local economy. Vibrant Gujarat will now have events on the banks of the Sabarmati river instead of Gandhinagar’s Mahatma Mandir. Which will act as a platform for large, small and medium enterprises, giving them an opportunity to participate in the exhibition and enter the larger market.
Changes in previous plans
In September 2022, Keshav Verma, chairman of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Company, said that the riverfront has great potential for public infrastructure that is rare in any other city. It will be a green building with a lot of open space. Officials will also seek suggestions from trade associations and experts in the art sector. There may also be an art museum in the same complex.
Announcement to build a new cultural center on the Sabarmati riverfront. A state-of-the-art cultural center is going to be built near the Atal Bridge at a cost of 800 crores. The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation approved this ambitious project.
It was then announced that there would be an exhibition and convention hall with a capacity of 10,000 people. There will be a business centre, a performing arts theatre, a theatre dome, an amphitheatre and a five or seven star hotel. It was then targeted to be completed by June 2027. The project will be spread over 21,000 square metres. It will be India’s first project designed for conferences, business and cultural events.
After the inauguration of the Atal Pedestrian Bridge, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation is set to come up with another special project on the eastern side of the riverfront.
10,000 families lived in slums on the river bank. It is claimed that ready-made houses will be provided to them by transferring them. Now international facilities for industry and culture will be available here. About 202 hectares of coastal land has been acquired on both sides of the river. Since the 1960s, proposals have been made for riverfront development. In May 1997, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation formed the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited Company. Finally in 1998, Keshubhai Patel’s government implemented it. It was opened for public benefit from January 2014. The river has now shrunk to 263 meters. The Sabarmati river is no longer Sabarmati. But 7 km. Therefore it is dependent on the Narmada river. Water is pumped into the river from the Kari of Ahmedabad. Every year 250 to 300 people commit suicide in the river.
Phase 2 was approved in 2020.
In the 1960s, French architect Bernard Cohn proposed an ecological valley in the Sabarmati basin from the Dharoi dam to the Gulf of Khambhat.
In 1964, Barnard reclaimed 30 hectares of land and proposed the Sabarmati Riverfront.
In 1966, governments backed out from the project as it was not economically and socially feasible.
In 1976 the Riverfront Development Group proposed a new approach to construction.
In 1992 the National River Conservation Plan was proposed to reduce river pollution.
In 1997, the Government of India provided a capital of ₹1 crore for riverfront development.
A feasibility report was prepared in 1998. The plan is to take up 1640 hectares of land in 11 km.
In 2003, a plan was made to acquire 202.79 hectares of land.
In 2004, a cost of Rs. 1200 crore was estimated, to be recovered by selling land.
Construction began in 2005.
In 2014, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hitchhiked on the Sabarmati riverfront.
A total of Rs. 1,152 crore was spent till 2014.
Rs. 1400 crore was spent till 2019.
85% of the land is used for public infrastructure, amusement parks, sports facilities and gardens at high fees.
14 per cent of the land is proposed for commercial and residential use. A convention centre is being built in 2024.
Groundwater recharge, boating
There are also plans to recharge the river through treated sewage water.
Road
A 25 m (82 ft) road has been built along the river in the north-south direction and 30 m (98 ft) in the eastern direction to the airport. Water-based public transport will be built in the future. There are 31 ghats here. There is a boating station here.
The venue is spread over 12.5 acres 4 lakh feet, with a seating arrangement for 50 thousand people.
2.2 acres dhobi ghat – laundry complex.
Fourteen public utilities have been built.
In September 2023, a seven-storey parking lot was opened near SVP Hospital.
The Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram will be developed as an amphitheater along the Lower Promenade.
A 3.3 hectare heritage plaza will be built between Ellis Bridge and Nehru Bridge.
Sports complexes have been built.
The Atal Bridge was built in April 2022.
Riverfront Flower Park
26% of the land is used for parks and gardens.
A 6-hectare park near Subhash Bridge was opened in 2013 at a cost of Rs. 16.60 crore.
A 1.8-hectare park was started near Usmanpura in 2013.
There is a 5-hectare riverfront flower park here. It has 330 indigenous and exotic flower species. It was built at a cost of Rs. 18.75 crore.
Opened in 2016.
A children’s park was started near Dafnala in 2019.
A 10.4-hectare urban forest has been created in Paldi. There is a biodiversity park here. It cost Rs. 167 crore. The biodiversity park is spread over two hectares of land, with 7000 trees of more than 120 species and roots of 35 species as well as migratory birds like boot-headed eagles, egrets, ibis, white-throated kingfisher, purple goose and javelina. There are also some species of butterflies and snakes. Around 70 thousand plants were planted on the land between Ambedkar Bridge and Sports Club.
A 0.9 hectare recreational park will be built near Dadhichi Bridge.
A 1.4 hectare Peace Garden in Khanpur is proposed as a park as well as a venue for concerts and outdoor performances.
A Sunday market is held under Ellis Bridge.
A 0.5 hectare plaza will be built at Vallabh Sadan.
Three sports complexes are proposed. Paldi (7.1 hectares) for city-level sports, Pirana (4.2 hectares) and Shahpur (2.3 hectares) for informal sports. Paldi and Shahpur sports complexes opened in September 2023.
Residential
14% of the reclaimed land is planned to be used for residential and commercial purposes.
A total of 52 buildings, including eight museums, will be constructed. The Space Index (FSI) has been given up to 5.
Four of the proposed 42 buildings will be 101 metres high.
The price of this land is Rs. It has been decided to sell it for Rs. 3500 crore but no one is ready to buy it.
The office complex was constructed in 2015 at a cost of Rs. 48.83 crore work was done.
Riverfront Phase 2
In 2019, a provision of Rs. 850 crore was made for Phase 2.
This will take the total length of the riverfront to 34 km.
Ahmedabad Cantonment Board gave 13 hectares of land. Additional 20 hectares (49 acres) of land
was acquired.
Criticism and controversies
In August 2006 the Sabarmati flooded at rates between 260,000 and 310,000 cubic feet per second.
The Gujarat State Irrigation Department reported a water flow of 550,000 cubic feet per second in 1973, before the construction of the Dharoi Dam. Yet a narrow river has been created in which 470,000 cubic feet of water flows every second. The river has to be artificially kept alive by illegally releasing water from the Narmada River. The cost of which is very high.
The average width of the river has decreased from 382 metres to 263 metres (863 ft). Sewerage has been shut down at 38 places. The river flowing below the Vasna Dam is the most polluted river in India. (Google translation from Gujarati)
