LANDUSE AND ENVIRONMENT

The geographical area of the capital project was 5,738 hectares, which
was
under the municipal jurisdiction of the Gandhinagar Notified Area (GNA)
Committee created under the provisions of the Gujarat Municipalities Act,
1963 to address the limited civic functions of the city, while many
infrastructure services remaining under the R&BD divisions.
The said geographical area under GNA has been increased later on
acquisition of additional lands in the south-western direction of GNA
upto the limits of the existing nearby canal and the railway line
abutting the GNA Area
slow pace of development due to nature of the citys intended primary

land development controls under the Gandhinagar New Capital

Periphery Control Act, 1960 were imposed to a 5-mile radius from
the boundary of GNA, which prevented any conversion of lands in the
periphery of Gandhinagar to non-agricultural uses, wiprevented any
conversion of lands in the periphery of Gandhinagar to nonagricultural uses, th the intent to regulate the development of the region
surrounding Gandhinagar and maintain its pristine green environment.
This has also lead to the periphery area having been under
increasing pressure for the development by the private sector. Later,
considering such pattern of rapid development between Gandhinagar
on its south and towards the expanded Ahmedabad Urban
Development Authority (AUDA) area along the Ahmedabad
Gandhinagar highway corridor by mid 1990s, the State Government in
early 1996 declared GNA and surrounding 39 villages as
Gandhinagar Urban Development Area, and constituted the

The first master plan of the Capital Project approved in 1966 had
envisioned to accommodate a population of 1,50,000 persons with the
intent that principal employer would be the State Government and as such
the design population was based on the government employee
structure.
Later on in 1974-75, during the second phase of development, the
target population of Gandhinagar was modified by the State Government to
3,50,000 for 2015 AD.
Establishment of commercial uses as convenient felt to shopping
establishments on account of economic viability & attractive
location perspective / convenience of residents to shop for their daily
needs and instead quite limited utilization of planned commercial use
spaces is found in the core of the residential sectors,
Growth of unplanned informal sector both in terms of informal
commercial uses & informal housing needs, etc. While, the
government employee structure based land plots/housing as per the

Use Distribution (1966)

Land Use
Area %age
Category
(Ha.)
Residential

900

15.69

Commercial
Industrial
Institutional
and Public
Amenities
Open Spaces /
Recreational

240
280
115

4.18
4.88
2.00

162

2.82

Vacant /
Reserved Land

1318

22.97

Transportation
and Roads

500

8.71

1423

24.81

Afforestation
and
River
Total

800
5738

Existing Land Use in GNA in 1999

Existing Land
Area
%age Utilizatio
Use Category
(Ha.)
n %age
Residential
(Pvt)
Residential
(Govt)
Commercial
Industrial
Institutional
and Public
Amenities
Open Spaces /
Recreational

513.63

8.95

284.56

4.96

35.25
486.57
222.55

0.61
8.48
3.88

14.68
173.77
193.52

128.35

2.24

79.22

Vacant Land

839.17

14.62

63.67

1004.40

17.50

200.88

1423.51

24.81

100

800.00
5738.00

13.94
100.00

100

Transportation
and Roads

Afforestation
and
13.94 River
100.00 Total

88.69

Existing Land Use

Rest of GUDA Area
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Religious
Public Amenities
Institutional
Sub-Total
Gamtals
Brick Kilns
GNA Total
Agriculture/Forest/Wasteland/
Water bodies/others
Total GUDA

Area (Ha.)

%age

374.70
54.70
13.27
9.60
23.69
69.03
544.99
715.74
646.60
5738.00

0.97
0.14
0.03
0.02
0.06
0.18
1.40
1.85
1.67
14.80

31115.07
38760.00

80.28
100.00

Thus, GUDAs Draft Development Plan, Gandhinagar 2011 AD through its

proposed land use map & other plan documentation, and its GDCR
attempt to address the accommodation of population of 5.35 lakhs and
the core needs of:
economic development commercial and institutional uses more intensively,
and retaining/conserving agriculture lands
traffic & transportation,
housing,
physical infrastructure,
social amenities,
land allocation and development mechanisms, and
institutional framework changes.

In addition to the current urban area of Gandhinagar City (i.e. the GNA Area),
the planned development of the seven nuclei villages near Gandhinagar is
also provisioned through the land development method of Town Planning (TP)
Schemes

Current Development Pattern in GNA

Area as per Google Earth Imagery,
2007
Source: STP, CA&TP Office (R&BD),
Gandhinagar, Govt of Gujarat

GUDA Boundary
Gamtal Boundary
TP Schemes Boundary
GNA Boundary
Cantonment Boundary

nt Development Pattern in GUDA Area as per Google Earth Imagery, 2007

e: Google Earth Imagery, 2007 available online through Internet

Residential:
The residential use is merely 13.4% (maximum being nearly 51% in case of
Sector-19) indicating the possible growth potential on an average upto the
reasonable percentage levels as prescribed by the UDPFI Guidelines, 1996 for a
medium sized town (i.e. 40-45%).
This low utilization under residential use also indicates the need for the
selective densification to facilitate the sustenance of transit systems as
well as to promote the adoption of international best practice of transitoriented development (TOD) concept.
While the northern sectors normally have low-rise to mid-rise housing
pattern predominantly under government housing,
in the southern sectors, low-rise to multi-apartments type activity within
mid-rise height buildings is also seen.
the gross population densities at sector level are predominantly in the
range of 75-150 persons per hectare, some sectors are in the range of 151-225
persons per hectare, and the Sector 24 falls under the highest range of 226300 persons per hectare of gross density.
Sector 24 also has the highest net population density of > 600 persons

Commercial:
the land under commercial use at present is hardly 0.5% which is very low
as compared to the UDPFI norms.
the utilization of planned commercial uses has been very limited,
which has put pressure to meet such demand and resultantly mixeduse activities have come up.
informal commercial sector was observed in a scattered pattern
predominantly near the main zones of residential, commercial (Sector11, 21 etc.) and institutional uses (like Sector-10B).
The major commercial activity that has happened at sector level is only
in Sector-21s District Center which acts as a popular city level retail
center both formal as well as informal (larri-gallas/ cheap type
shops), while other district centers have not really developed.
the development within the city level Civic Center in Sector-11 is
highly under utilized, for which now the government proposal of
creating a Vibrant Corporate Trade Center in the core of Sector-11
has already been initiated.

is only 5.5%, while many plots of industrial land are either currently vacant /
under plantation / being used as solid waste dumping site. Apart from the single
large scale level industrial activity in the form of the Gandhinagar Thermal Power
Station of GEB located in the northern part of GNA Area, the major industrial
areas are under the small-scale industrial activity in the GIDC Electronic Estate
in the north-western part, and in GIDC Engineering Estate in the northern
part abutting Sector-26, 27, & 28 near Adiwada village. Some SEZ type
activity is also earmarked in the GIDC Electronic Estate area, and some as part of
the West of InfoCity sector.
Public & Semi-Public / Institutional (Including Public Utilities):
The public & semi-public land use (i.e. government institutions, educational &
health-care facilities, other social-cultural facilities, religious facilities, and
public utilities) percentage i.e. 8.4% also indicates under utilization.
This majorly includes the Capitol Complexes of Sector-10, 10A, & 10B, part
of Sector-11 & 12, Sector-15, Sector-17, Sector-20, Sector-27, and the area
under InfoCIty & West of InfoCity,
The main water supply systems are located in Sector-9 as well as in the
northern part of GIDC Engineering Estate.

These include the major networks of NH-8C, the internal thoroughfare roads of
45 m, 65 m, & 100 m ROWs, the bus terminal in Sector-11, and railway line
connective with a terminus at the end of north-western end of the Central Vista
axis along 100 m ROW Road No. 4.
Recreational & Open Spaces:
The percentage observed under recreation and open spaces is 20.6% and the same
conforms well when comparing with the above-mentioned guidelines.
Major nature based recreational & open areas include the fringe area of
Sabarmati River like GEER Foundation Park / Sarita Udyan near Indroda
village, Childrens Park in Sector 28 etc. Sector level gardens and
neighborhood level open spaces also exist currently in good numbers and
contribute to the said area.

Sector-15 & 21 cover city level sports facilities,

while Sector-17 has a large Maidan for city level public gatherings /
conducting fairs & festivals.
Others: Lot of land was also observed under vacant state (over all 4% of GNA
Area), under afforestations & plantation 13.2% area is covered some planned as
plantation while nearly 40% of it is actually lands that were planned for urban
uses but are currently under plantation, and 14.2% are is under agriculture &
water bodies which predominantly covers the area under Sabarmati River and

Though, Gandhinagar is predominantly a capital city, from the perspective of

diversification of its economic base in general and which is also required to
improve affordability conditions to sustain the CLEAN, GREEN, & SOLAR agenda,
it would be imperative to attempt at least for proper utilization of commercial,
industrial, & institutional land uses to the minimum limits of prescribed abovementioned guidelines, i.e. 3-4%, 8-10%, and 10-12% respectively.
Internally within GNA area, the urban development occurred in the northern &
north-western part, though the gross population density pattern was relatively
much lower than as envisaged in these areas
Externally, the growth beyond Gandhinagar city has been predominantly in
the southern direction towards Ahmedabad due to better connectivity,
developmental pressures, and the growth directions / developmental
proposals envisaged in the current Draft Development Plan, 2011 AD, by GUDA.
Some growth has been occurring in the 7-nuclei villages due to their
proximity to GNA as well as AUDA limits in case of Adalaj, better connectivity,
and the start of implementation of TP Schemes in a phased manner

1.CLEAN CITY - INDICATORS & CONCEPT

The vision for clean Gandhinagar includes the following key indicators:
Reduction in GHG emissions;
Improvement in air quality and ambient noise;
Efficient waste management; and,
Access to clean water and sanitation.
For each of these sustainability indicators, the current status and the impacts on
these indicators for the various concept options have been assessed. These
assessments shall form basis for the formulation of the targets to be achieved for
these indicators as part of the Green city action goals.

Water as an indicator for sustainable development in GUDA, i.e planning

development scenarios to ensure
minimization of any further depletion of ground water,
provision of safe potable water to the population, and,
EFFICIENT WASTE MANAGEMENT
The current system of waste management, as highlighted in the section on
Solid wastes management is not conformant to the Solid Waste Handling
rules, of the GoI. Towards improvement of the current systems in waste
collection, transportation and storage, efforts in line with the SWHR including
segregation of wastes at source, effective transportation of wastes collected,
and avoidance of multi-handling of wastes are proposed. Towards treatment
and disposal of solid wastes, the following options were reviewed:
Option 1
Treatment and disposal Centralized. With a single landfill site. The site for
the landfill is being finalized by the GNA; and,
Compost plants for treatment of organic wastes. This facility shall be either a
combined facility for GUDA or at sector / village level managed by SHGs
Option 2
This concept, not requiring a landfill for disposal of wastes, is in line with the
zero-waste targets, wherein there shall be a strong element of recycling.
Opportunities for exploring this concepts exists (on a pilot basis) in Sectors
within GNA, which can be scaled up for replication in the medium term.

1.CONCEPT OF GREEN CITY

The vision for Green Gandhinagar
includes the following key indicators:
Improvement of Urban biodiversity;
and
Energy efficient buildings and energy
efficiency in utilities.

1.URBAN BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Gandhinagar lies in Eco-region 3: Northern Alluvial Plains[1]. The semiarid agro-ecologica
systems of rain fed Kharif and irrigated cropping dominate over the natural tropical scrub
and pastoral plain systems. Water regime forms an important component of the
ecosystems of this region. It is interesting to observe that nature has endowed some
special conditions to bring exogenous water to this dry region. The upper parts of the
watersheds of the rivers of the high rainfall area of the adjoining Rocky Highland, and
large quantity of runoff are received in the area. The intervening pediment zone between
the Northern Alluvial Plain (NAP) and Northern Rocky Highland (NRH) forms the
groundwater recharge zone for NAP: a substantial part of the runoff goes to recharge the
aquifer
systems
while the
remainingon
flows
west. The
flat low lying saline
The Gujarat
Ecology
Commission,
the down
basis farther
of geological
environment,
wasteland
inundated byofduring
the
river
classifiesgets
the ecosystems
Gujarat
are
intofloods.
eight major eco regions: Northern
Rocky Highland, Southern Rocky Highland, Northern Alluvial Plain, Central alluvial
Plain, Ranns of Banni and Kachchh, Peninsula of Kachchh, Peninsula of Saurashtra
and Coastal zones of Gujarat.
In the near future, GNA will densify at the expense of its unprotected tree cover
whereas GUDA area will increasingly urbanize, especially in the south, at the
expense of its agricultural biodiversity. The enlarging urban footprint will be
accompanied by an increasing pressure on land resources, increased
concretization and emissions, corresponding receding of the countryside and
natural features, disappearance of habitats, reduction in species richness and
population sizes and a decrease in carbon sequestration capacity. In addition,
climatic changes with a general increase in temperature would have to be coped
with.

It may be noted that the present approach to have large cultivated greens
in urban areas drives the consumption of water, fertilizer and manpower
resources. On the contrary natural greens, such as biodiversity parks,
enrich soil, retain monsoon runoff and provide habitats to diverse flora and
fauna. There is also a critical need, in urban areas, for increased
vegetation cover to sequester CO2, generate more oxygen, cool the
microclimate and thus enable greater precipitation especially in areas of
mass vegetation
Access to nature provides psychological, educational and health benefits an antidote to the stresses of urban life. This is particularly important
where open spaces are in short supply, as is often the case in areas of
regeneration. Access can be increased in three ways: by creating new
wildlife habitat, creating access to existing habitat and encouraging people
to use existing accessible places. However, there are challenges in
successfully integrating biodiversity with development because of the
potential conflicts between them, and these need to be addressed
carefully.

The Integrated action plan to make Gandhinagar a Solar City report prepared
by TERI for GEDA in the year 2007, lays down some important findings, lessons and
recommendations for the City of Gandhinagar, which need to be duly considered and
integrated into the proposal for Master-Plan for clean, green, solar Gandhinagar.
These are outlined in this Chapter.
In essence, the Solar City program strives to integrate:
Energy conservation measures to reduce the energy demand and
Utilization of locally available resources such as solar and other renewable resources to
meet these reduced energy demands.
The strategy and action plan for solar city would encompass evolving action plans for
use of non-conventional energy resources. The solar city plan has been conceptualized
with the objective of utilizing solar energy to its optimum. Solar in this context,
encompasses all forms of renewable energy technologies (solar, wind power, hydropower, and certain forms of bio-energy).

GNA was planned as a city with low density and an extensive hierarchical park system. This
is
a gardensFOR
in cities approach. The time has come to evolve from a gardens in cities
CONCEPTS
approach
to a city whose internal landscape blends seamlessly with the regional landscape
GREENING
system. The biodiversity strategy, thus, proposes to bring substantial area into the green
area network, change the vegetation characteristics of existing areas insofar as possible,
increase the foliage density within the area constraints with a view to:
Integrating biodiversity with economic development overcoming potential conflicts
between them;
Conserve existing unprotected green cover/obtain compensatory measures against adverse
impact of development on existing green cover - ensure ecological services from
underutilized areas locked in large campuses/institutional areas;
Augmenting vegetation cover and density for carbon sequestration and countering climate
change/global warming;
Having a spatial hierarchical network of biodiversity sites for adequate accessibility from all
parts of GNA and GUDA to wildlife habitats and natural green spaces;
Increase green areas in sites of regional Importance existing protected areas as major
urban greens tree plantations large and medium campuses and unused fly ash deposit
areas, landfill sites;
naturalizing of large urban greens to reduce resource inputs - develop natural landscapes in
large urban greens to reduce resource inputs, increase leaf density, create faunal habitats;
maintain and enhance density of green cover in urban areas;
enhance habitat availability for flora and fauna in the regional landscape;
improve corridor connectivity amongst isolated green fragments through the urban and
regional landscape insofar as possible;
Maintain and increase access to natural green space; and Provide different level of
legislative protection to existing and proposed green cover these could be community
reserves or conservation reserves under the Wildlife Protection Act, 2002 or community
/village forests under Forest Act. New categories with a lower level of protection could be
formed to be categorized as local nature reserves or ecological services areas. The usufruct