42 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

This chapter details out the existing land use of Thrissur City based on the land use survey conducted
by Town and Country Planning Department. Spatial structure of various land uses is analyzed in
detail.

5.1 EXISTING LAND USE OF THRISSUR CITY

The structure of any city is best understood through the study of the extent and distribution
of various land uses. During the formation of Thrissur City, six Panchayats were added to the existing
Thrissur Municipal area. Therefore the presence of Agricultural activities is seen in abundance in
Thrissur City compared to the other Cities in Kerala State. Fig 5.1 shows the existing land use of
Thrissur City based on Land use Survey 2010.

Fig 5.1 Land use map of Thrissur City

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 43

Land use break up in the cityis shown in table 5.1 and the percentage wise distribution of
different land use in Thrissur Cityis shown in fig 5.2. Residential (39.32%) and Agriculture (33.04%)
land uses are predominant in Thrissur City. Being the cultural and educational centre of the state
public and semipublic land use constitute about 10.17% and it is succeeded by 6.05% of traffic and
transportation land use. Industrial Land use (1.64%) is seen almost equal to Commercial (1.60%) land
Use. Park & open space acquires 0.54% of land and the availability of vacant land is about 4.09%
which is mainly contributed by the conversion of paddy fields. Thrissur City is covered by 3.34% of
Water bodies and 0.30% of other land use which includes rock and Quarry.

Table 5.1 LAND USE BREAK UP

Existing Land use 2010

Land use
Area (Sq.km) Percentage
Residential 39.88 39.32
Commercial 1.62 1.60
Industrial 1.66 1.64
Public and Semipublic Use 10.31 10.17
Transport and
6.05 5.97
Communication
Park and Open spaces 0.55 0.54
Vacant land 4.15 4.09
Dry Agriculture 11.40 11.24
Paddy 22.11 21.80
Water bodies 3.39 3.34
Others (Quarry, Rock, etc) 0.30 0.30
Total 101.42 100.00
Source: Land use survey 2010

Fig 5.2 Percentage of Land use Break up

The following table describes the ward wise distribution of Land use area in Thrissur City.

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44 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

Table: 5.2 LIST OF WARD WISE LAND USE (in sq.km.) DETAILS

Commercial

Transportat
Open Space
Agricultural

Forest Area
Residential

Industrial
Ward Name

Others
Park &

bodies
Water
Ward No

Public

ion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Poonkunnam 1.31 0.06 0.072 0.19 2.61 0.45 0.29 0.21 0.00 0.02

2 Patturaikkal 0.61 0.05 0.023 0.09 0.31 0.33 0.21 0.06 0.00 0.00

3 Viyyur 0.97 0.02 0.028 0.67 1.00 0.03 0.19 0.09 0.00 0.00

4 Ramavarmapuram 0.62 0.01 0.001 1.91 0.38 0.03 0.12 0.08 0.00 0.13

5 Peringavu 0.98 0.01 0.011 0.25 0.31 0.28 0.10 0.07 0.00 0.00

6 Chembukavu 0.75 0.08 0.013 0.29 0.08 0.16 0.18 0.03 0.00 0.00

7 Gandhinagar 0.89 0.005 0.001 0.04 0.41 0.59 0.09 0.10 0.00 0.00

8 Cheroor 0.63 0.004 0.000 0.10 0.25 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.00

9 Villodom 1.08 0.01 0.067 0.13 1.08 0.02 0.07 0.04 0.00 0.02

10 Mukkattukara 1.03 0.001 0.006 0.06 2.47 0.05 0.11 0.14 0.00 0.00

11 Nettissery 0.66 0.04 0.018 0.47 0.42 0.01 0.17 0.06 0.00 0.00

12 Mullakkara 0.62 0.01 0.009 0.47 2.17 0.13 0.12 0.05 0.00 0.09

13 Mannuthy 0.30 0.001 0.031 1.30 0.42 0.00 0.03 0.07 0.00 0.00

14 Krishnapuram 0.66 0.01 0.016 0.20 0.16 0.01 0.12 0.01 0.00 0.00

15 Ollukkara 0.69 0.01 0.019 0.06 0.50 0.03 0.08 0.04 0.00 0.00

16 Kalathode 0.59 0.003 0.015 0.04 0.23 0.04 0.06 0.02 0.00 0.00

17 Paravattani 0.76 0.01 0.055 0.10 0.49 0.09 0.10 0.02 0.00 0.00
Kizhakkumpattuka
18 0.60 0.01 0.016 0.01 0.23 0.20 0.07 0.02 0.00 0.00
ra
19 Pallikulam 0.78 0.08 0.017 0.22 0.12 0.11 0.20 0.04 0.00 0.01

20 Mission Quarters 0.53 0.02 0.022 0.11 0.16 0.09 0.08 0.01 0.00 0.01

21 Chelakkottukara 0.74 0.01 0.045 0.37 0.18 0.04 0.12 0.02 0.00 0.00

22 Nadathara 0.40 0.01 0.012 0.03 0.30 0.02 0.09 0.05 0.00 0.00

23 Valarkkavu 0.37 0.01 0.004 0.02 0.06 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.00

24 Kuriachira 1.37 0.02 0.019 0.10 0.28 0.06 0.14 0.04 0.00 0.00

25 Anchery 1.08 0.02 0.017 0.05 0.28 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.00 0.00

26 Padavaradu 1.07 0.01 0.091 0.13 0.38 0.08 0.05 0.01 0.00 0.00

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 45

Park & Open

Transportati
Commercial

Agricultural

Forest Area
Residential

Industrial
Ward Name

Others
bodies
Ward No

Water
Public

Space

on
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
27 Kuttanellore 1.35 0.03 0.183 0.23 0.22 0.13 0.22 0.02 0.00 0.00

28 Edakunni 0.88 0.04 0.072 0.10 0.76 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.00 0.00

29 Thaikkattussery 1.05 0.01 0.204 0.03 0.70 0.04 0.16 0.03 0.00 0.00

30 Ollur 1.27 0.06 0.111 0.16 0.67 0.07 0.31 0.04 0.00 0.00

31 Chiyyaram South 1.10 0.01 0.021 0.07 0.17 0.06 0.13 0.05 0.00 0.00

32 Chiyyaram 0.55 0.01 0.008 0.16 0.10 0.01 0.09 0.01 0.00 0.00

33 Kannamkulangara 0.82 0.03 0.017 0.11 0.14 0.08 0.10 0.02 0.00 0.00

34 Kanimangalam 0.65 0.01 0.008 0.04 0.09 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.00 0.00

35 Kokkalai 0.60 0.07 0.039 0.10 0.07 0.08 0.13 0.01 0.00 0.00
36 Thekkinkadu 0.25 0.35 0.011 0.38 0.03 0.29 0.28 0.03 0.00 0.00
37 Kottapuram 0.48 0.07 0.014 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.15 0.02 0.00 0.00
38 Poothole 0.40 0.11 0.027 0.07 0.39 0.11 0.24 0.04 0.00 0.00
39 Vadukkara 0.69 0.01 0.008 0.04 0.85 0.09 0.09 0.05 0.00 0.00
40 Koorkanchery 0.68 0.02 0.008 0.08 0.31 0.08 0.18 0.03 0.00 0.00
41 Panamukku 0.84 0.01 0.028 0.03 1.52 0.02 0.08 0.10 0.00 0.00
42 Nedupuzha 0.84 0.01 0.008 0.04 3.42 0.01 0.08 0.23 0.00 0.00
43 Karayattukara 0.52 0.00 0.001 0.24 2.19 0.01 0.04 0.19 0.00 0.00
44 Chettupuzha 1.24 0.01 0.006 0.08 0.95 0.08 0.09 0.30 0.00 0.00
45 Elthuruthu 0.61 0.002 0.000 0.02 0.04 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00
46 Olari 0.36 0.03 0.001 0.11 0.06 0.00 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.00
47 Pullazhi 1.04 0.01 0.207 0.20 3.60 0.03 0.12 0.63 0.00 0.00
48 Civil station 0.74 0.04 0.005 0.16 1.14 0.09 0.02 0.15 0.00 0.02
49 Laloor 0.70 0.02 0.002 0.16 0.21 0.07 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00
50 Aranattukara 0.78 0.04 0.025 0.08 0.11 0.03 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.00
51 Kanattukara 0.54 0.08 0.016 0.09 0.05 0.04 0.10 0.02 0.00 0.00
52 Ayyanthole 0.86 0.04 0.009 0.05 0.38 0.15 0.09 0.04 0.00 0.00
Total 39.88 1.62 1.666 10.31 33.51 4.70 6.05 3.39 0.00 0.30
Source: Land Use survey -2010

From this table it can be seen that the major land use in all wards are residential but
exceptions are seen in certain wards such as Poonkunnam, Viyyur, Mukkattukara, Mullakkara,
Vadukkara, Panamukku, Nedupuzha, Karyattukara and Civil station where agriculture land use is
much higher than other land use. These wards are acting as the major agriculture product source of

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 46 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

Thrissur Municipal Corporation. These lands are retained as such due to the Kerala Conservation of
Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008. Before this act large area of paddy lands are converted to
various other land uses by achieving Kerala Land Utilization (KLU) certificate from the concerned
authorities.
In certain wards such as Ramavarmapuram, Viyyur and Mannuthy, Public and Semipublic
Land use is higher than other land uses. Thekkinkadu (Ward No: 36) the city centre, shows almost
equal area in all major land use. Residential area of 0.25sq.km,Public and semipublic of 0.38sq.km,
0.35 sq km Commercial area, Park and open spaces of 0.29 sq km, Transportation land use of 0.28
sq km and industrial area of 0.03 sq km is present in Thekkinkadu ward. This shows the prominence
of all major land use in the city centre. This is one of the unique features of Thrissur City.

Fig 5.3 Details of land use distribution in different wards of Thrissur Municipal Corporation

The above table and figure describes the land use available in different wards and it explains
the major sector available in different wards. From figure 5.3 it can be seen that the agriculture land
use is high in those wards where major roads are not passing through.

5.2 CONCENTRATION INDEX OF LAND USE

Concentration index points out the concentration of a particular Land use in a ward and the
comparison of this show the availability of various sectors in different wards.

Concentration index of a land use = Percentage of a particular land use in a ward

Percentage of that particular land use in the Local body

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 47

5.3 CONCENTRATION OF AGRICULTURE LAND USE

Figure 5.4 shows the concentration index of land use in agriculturalland use. It can be clearly
seen that the agriculture land use is concentrated in wards Nedupuzha and Karyattukara. These
wards have a concentration index more than 2. From the distribution of concentration index, it can
be seen that all the wards at the fringe of City only have agricultural land concentration to some
extent. Agricultural lands along major roads have reduced due to conversion. Wards Nedupuzha and
Karyattukara are away from major roads and hence agricultural land concentration found to be high
here.

Fig 5.4 Concentration index of Agriculture Land use

Agriculture land use is mainly subdivided into wet agriculture and dry agriculture. Wet
agriculture land use is again subdivided in to single crop paddy lands, multi crop paddy and paddy
lands without cultivation. The fig 5.5 shows the area of wet agriculture and the area belonging to
each division. Out of the Paddy without cultivation is under threat of land conversion. Single crop
paddy or Kole lands are water logged areas and therefore it may escape from land conversion. The
presence of ‘The Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008’is preventing these areas
from land conversion. But the area marked as paddy without cultivation and a portion of multi crop
paddy is in the threshold of conversion threat. It is seen that the conversion of land is possible in
eastern part whereas western part can be completely retained as paddy fields. Paddy fields located
nearby major roads are also facing the threat of conversion of land use.

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48 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

Fig 5.5 Different Categories of Paddy lands

Fig 5.6 Distribution of Dry cultivation

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 49

The subdivision in dry agriculture land use is as shown in fig 5.6. This figure shows that the
dry cultivation is spread throughout the city. Rubber plantation is seen in the eastern part of Thrissur
City in Ollukkara Village.

5.4 CONCENTRATION OF RESIDENTIAL LAND USE

High residential land use concentration is seen in ward 45 (Elthuruth). As per socio economic
survey the percentage of people having more than 25 cents plot area is very less. Therefore a
mixture of residential/ agriculture land use is very less in the city.

Fig 5.7 Concentration Index of Residential Land Use

Concentration of residential Land use is seen in South Eastern part of Thrissur City. Highest
residential concentration is seen in Elthuruthu which is more than 2. Residential land use seen very
less in those wards where agriculture concentration is higher and also other wards like
Ramavarmapuram, Thekkinkadu, etc. where other land use concentration like public and semi-public
dominations are higher.
Table 5.3 PLOT AREA DISTRIBUTION IN THRISSUR CITY
Range of Plot Area <=3 cents 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 25 26 to 50 51 to 70 >70
Average % for the LSGI 12.95 25.77 40.47 16.76 2.76 0.49 0.76
Source: Socio-economic survey 2010

As per the Socio economic survey only 4.01% of the people are having Land holdings above
25 cents. Out of it about 0.76 % holds land above 70 cents and 0.49% holds land between 51 and
70cents. This shows the urban nature with less land holdings. This also indicates high land value and
less land availability.

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 50 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

5.5 PUBLIC AND SEMI PUBLIC LAND USE

Next to residential and commercial land use, public and semipublic land use is predominant
in Thrissur City. Concentration index of it is shown in figure 5.8. Ward 4 Ramavarmapuram shows
higher concentration of this Land use where prison, Govt. Engineering College, Vimala college etc.
are located.Mannuthy also shows higher concentration because of the presence of Kerala
Agriculture University area. Central area of Thrissur also dominates in public use due to the presence
of temples, churches and other cultural centres. The public and semipublic use is present in almost
all wards because of the abundance in schools, colleges and other public institutions in Thrissur City.

Fig 5.8 Concentration Index of Public and Semipublic Land use

5.6 PARK AND OPEN SPACES

This land use consists of stadium, Playground, park, burial ground, open maidan, vacant
land, waste land etc. Fig 5.9 explains the concentration pattern of Park and Open Spaces in Thrissur
City. The accumulation of vacant land in ward 7 made the concentration index high in that area. The
abundance of vacant land in that area is due to the conversion of Peringavu paddy fields to other
uses because of zonal exemption available till 2007. This area is now almost converted to residential
use. Since it is converted paddy lands, water logging is often in these areas. Thekkinkadumaidan
owned by Cochin Devaswom is another important open space or breathing space of Thrissur City.
Nehru Park also plays an important role in the city centre for recreational purpose. There are open
grounds and vacant lands located near the city centre which resulted in the concentration of open
spaces in the core area. This shows the scope for development in core area by proper planning.

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Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 51

Fig 5.9 Concentration Index of Park and Open spaces

Fig 5.10 Distribution of Park and Open spaces

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 52 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

5.7 VACANT LANDS

In Thrissur City 4.09% of land area is coming under vacant land category i.e. there is no
particular use of land in these areas. The availability of vacant land is mainly due to the conversion of
paddy lands. These paddy lands are kept vacant because of the regulations in the sanctioned
development plan or any of the detailed Town planning scheme. The concentration of vacant lands
is high in Gandhinagar ward where Paddy cultivation is confined to some pockets and land
conversion is taking place. Majority of the developed land is used for residential purpose due to the
increasing demand of the residences. Figure 5.11 also reveals that the land conversion is mainly
occurring in and around the citycentre.

Fig 5.11 Concentration Index of Vacant lands

5.8 WATER BODIES

Water bodies take about 3.34% of Thrissur City which is much higher than the Commercial
and industrial land use. The presence of Kole paddy lands is one of the reasons behind it. The
concentration index figure explains that water bodies are highly concentrated in agriculture zones.
Small streams are seen everywhere in the city. No river is passing through the city. Figure 5.12 and
5.13 explains the concentration index and the distribution of water bodies in Thrissur City. From the
concentration index distribution in the city, it can be seen that water bodies are scattered
throughout the city. More concentration is to be found towards the fringes where agricultural lands
are available.

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Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 53

Fig 5.12 Concentration Index of Water Bodies

Fig 5.13 Distribution of Water Bodies

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 54 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

From the distribution of water bodies, it can be seen that the concentration of water bodies
can be found to be higher in Pullazhi and Chettupuzha wards where active agricultural land exists.
Even though drains are seen all over the city, a proper drainage system is not functioning. There are
water logged areas during monsoon season, mainly due to the clogging of drains with solid wastes.
This can be remedied by regular cleaning and proper management of the drainage system.

5.9 FUNCTIONAL CHARACTER

Functional Character of Kerala is seen as urban rural continuum throughout the State. The
function of a local body is the major activity within the LSGI, it may be primary sector activities
(rural) secondary sector / tertiary sector activities (urban activities) or the combination of both.
The functional character of Thrissur district as per IDDP Perspective plan is shown in the fig
5.14.There are settlements exhibiting a combination of the two characters which needs to be
explored. Analysis based on land use and average plot size (methodology adopted for IDDP, Thrissur
report) shows that there exists semi urban and semi-rural character in settlements in addition to the
urban and rural character. An area can be classified as Semi Urban, if there exists (or it is likely to
introduce) both urban and rural activities with predominance to urban activities. If the predominant
activity is rural, in the area where both urban and rural activities co-exist; it is classified as a semi-
rural area.
The spatial distribution of the settlements based on its character shows a clear demarcation
in the pattern of the settlements in four categories. Thrissur Municipal Corporation and
municipalities except Chalakudy shows the urban character. Some of coastal LSGI’s also show urban
character. Semi urban character is exhibited by LSGI’s that have urban influence like Vallathole
Nagar (located near to Shornur Municipality in Palakkad District), Elavally and Vallachira. Most of the
LSGI’s in the midland and high land region of the District exhibit rural character. Semi-rural character
is seen in those LSGI’s which are in a transition zone between LSGI’s of urban and rural character.
This also shows that the neighbouring Panchayats of Thrissur Municipal Corporation are not having
urban character.
According to the analysis of functional character of District, Thrissur Municipal Corporation
shows urban functional character. When analyzing the different wards in Thrissur Municipal
Corporation as done in fig 5.15, it is clearly showing the difference in functional character inside the
city. The ward where agriculture land use is having higher concentration shows rural character.
Edakunni ward shows both agriculture and residential land use mix with predominant residential
land use indicating semi urban character. Ward 39 Vadookara shows semirural character where
agriculture is predominant than residential.
In Thrissur Municipal Corporation area, 40 number of wards are showing urban nature, ward
Edakunni alone came in semi urban character, three wards belongs to semirural character and eight
wards completely shows rural character. It is also clear that Thrissur City is mainly engaged in
tertiary activities and a part of it is having primary nature also.

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Master Plan for Thrissur City LANDUSE 55

Fig 5.14 Functional Character of Thrissur District

Fig 5.15 Functional Character of Thrissur City

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala

 56 LANDUSE Master Plan for Thrissur City

The functional character of Thrissur City shown in fig 5.15 gives a clear idea about the
growthof the city. It can be seen that the wards having urban nature are situated along major roads.
All major roads in Thrissur City have commercial centers along them which have resulted in the
urban character of the area. A conflict to this is the wards situated along Kunnamkulam road which
are showing rural character as clear from the fig 5.15. This is due to the presence of environmentally
sensitive kole lands at the neighbouring area of the road. Growth of commercial activities at this
place was not allowed for protecting these kole lands and preventing their conversion. Proposals for
the development of this area have been made in this master plan focusing in the development of the
area along Kunnamkulam road.

5.10 CONCLUSION
Land use analysis indicates that majority of Thrissur City is urban but it is equally blessed
with agriculture land use also. The unique feature of equal importance to all categories of land use in
central area of the city is also revealed from this analysis. Concentration index of various land use
shows that agriculture and water bodies concentration are located in the same wards. These areas
can be retained for agriculture activities by introducing new techniques for more yields in less area.
Overall analysis points out that Thrissur Municipal Corporation has not yet reached the level of other
Municipal Corporations in urbanization. More development can be achieved for this area by
developing the vacant land available and re-densification the core areas through proper planning.

Thrissur Municipal Corporation Department of Town and Country Planning, Kerala