The multi-crore Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project in Ahmedabad suffers from serious flaws.
“WE are only ‘pinching' the Sabarmati over a 10-kilometre stretch as it passes through the centre of Ahmedabad,” explains Bimal Patel, consultant to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), which has conceived and initiated the controversial Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project. “We wouldn't cause any damage, for the sake of the city.”
The architect of the new Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad building is fond of the phrase “pinching the river”. He dismisses the contention of environmentalists and concerned citizens that the project will interfere with the carrying capacity of the river. If one narrows the river over a stretch, its flow over that distance increases, he asserts. The carrying capacity can be measured by the square metres of river “pinched” multiplied by the velocity of the river. Any constriction accentuates the flow of water, he notes, justifying the riverfront project.
Bimal Patel believes that owing to rising prices of real estate, only 15 per cent of the reclaimed land, or around 35 hectares, has to be sold. Some 46 hectares is to be used for roads, 15 hectares for rehabilitation and resettlement, 22 hectares for commercial development and 13 hectares for residential development. The remaining land will be allocated for public utilities and amenities. Jehangir Cama said, “From the speed at which the work is being pushed, it appears that a few major developers and builders' greed is the prime moving force behind the entire project.” The riverbed was originally the property of the AMC, but it has now been transferred to the SPV.
The main proposal for roads envisages a six-lane East River Drive ( a la the one along the Hudson river in Manhattan, New York) and a four-lane West River Drive. Some 40 hectares of parks and gardens will be created along the river's edge, while there will be an uninterrupted promenade with widths varying from 5 m to 17 m and a tree-lined walkway, the one truly welcome feature of the project if it does not involve uprooting thousands of slum-dwellers.