Urban Planning & Issues

[Krishnamoorthy K]

BHOPAL: The proposed master plan 2031 for Bhopal will take into account an estimated population of 33 lakh and focus on decongestion, regularizing illegal colonies and increasing green belt area. Town and Country Planning (TNCP) official BP Kulshreshtha told reporters on Saturday that the department has marked 812.79 square kilometers as the total area of development out of which 313 sq km is government land, 58.52 sq km the forest area, 14.02 sq km plantation area, 41.81 sq. km water bodies and 167.10 developed area.

TNCP has also divided Bhopal in three categories for development basis. "This is the first time we are dividing the city into three categories for the convenience of development. We are dividing them as suitable, less suitable and not suitable," KC Gupta, director, TNCP said.

The 'not suitable' area is for the places where construction and development cannot take place. These include forest, buffer areas of water land and steep slopes. The less suitable areas are places where chances of development are meager. These are under-catchment areas of water bodies, airport and establishments like ISRO.

The remaining area comes under the suitable category which has a lot of scope for development. TNCP also announced that any construction legal or illegal hindering the development process shall be demolished. "We will demolish the illegal construction interfering in the development process," Gupta added.

However, occupants of the legal constructions will be given proper compensation by the department, he added.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Downtown Srinagar is all set to go the New York way.

A two-km stretch from Nawakadal to Chattabal will soon have a heritage craft pedestrian trail for tourists on the pattern of the Big Apple.

It will house craft bazaars, retail outlets, kiosks, production centres and other facilities. The concept was borrowed from the similar heritage trails in New York, China (Chengdu), Muscat (Oman) and Sabarmati.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah approved the project at a highlevel meeting recently. "The main objective of the new development concept - translated into a holistic project for the revitalisation of downtown Srinagar - is to provide necessary succour to a large population of artisans by developing craft clusters, generating economic activities, encouraging tourist flow and upgrading basic amenities, along with the beautification of the historic Srinagar city," Abdullah said.

The state tourism department has already taken several initiatives to open up the old city to high-end tourists. It is constructing a museum named after famous Kashmiri saint Lalla Ded, who is venerated by both Hindus and Muslims, in the old city.

The department had earlier renovated Aali Masjid in Eidgah, constructed in the year 1471 by Muslim ruler Sultan Hassan Shah. It is the second largest mosque in Srinagar city after the Grand Mosque at Nowhatta.

Usually, tourists seldom visit old city areas known for heritage sites and old style architecture. The CM said the involvement of tourism, and housing and urban development departments should be factored in the overall roadmap aimed at comprehensive development of the old city and the artisans there.

Conservation architects have welcomed the move. "It was long overdue. It would give a new look to the city. But we hope the intervention in the plan's execution would be sympathetic to the historic buildings and heritage sites," said Saleem Beg, head of the Jammu and Kashmir chapter of the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

India Today

Concerned about City? Give your views on Master Plan revamp
Srinagar to give building permission online‎

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Nominate your favorite squares for the World Square Cup

Any square in India worth of nominating?

[murlee]

Some one has already mentioned Oval maidan of Mumbai in that thread.

[engineer.akash]

Mysore mantra: Pedal your way to office

Government officials in Mysore district will have to pedal their way to offices on bicycles every Monday as per the orders issued by Mysore deputy commissioner P.S. Vastrad to all offices in the district.

“Inspired by the participation in a bicycle rally on World Environment Day and considering the increasing fuel rates, the number of vehicles on roads and their impact on the environment, we thought of promoting the use of bicycles among common citizens in Mysore. The concept was discussed at a meeting of district level officials on June 21. In the first phase, we are asking government officials to adopt the concept so that it creates awareness among the general public,” Mr Vastrad said.

Officials who cannot cycle their way to office, can walk or use public transport, but should not use vehicles—their own or the government’s— and there will be no excuse for being late, Mr Vastrad said.

Separate five to six-foot wide lanes are being planned for cyclists on city roads and Mysore city traffic police have been instructed to guide the cyclists and give priority to their safety on roads. KSRTC drivers have also been asked to give due regard to cyclists. Civic bodies and head of various offices have been requesed to create appropriate parking spaces for cyclists, Mr Vastrad added.

While government officials are expected to buy their own bicycles, in case of problems they will be helped with loans. A bike rental service is also on the anvil. “We are planning to hold meetings with the authorities concerned to introduce the concept of cycling in campuses of University of Mysore and colleges in the city, Mr Vastrad added.

DC

[engineer.akash]

MODERATE RESPONSE FOR 'CYCLE TO WORK' ON DAY ONE

Caption: 1) MUDA Commissioner Dr. C.G. Betsurmath pedaling to office. 2) Palace Board Dy. Director T.S. Subramanya being greeted with a salute by the guards at Palace Gate.

Mysore, June 25- Considering the number of senior and middle rank officials who reached their offices riding bicycles in city this morning — on the very first day of the initiative of government employees to go green — the campaign has elicited moderate response.

The best response was at the MUDA, where the Commissioner Dr. C.G. Betsurmath pedaled a distance of seven kms from his house in Kuvempunagar, with his laptop and files tucked behind in the carrier. More than 40 staff of the MUDA including Superintending Engineer Mahesh, Assistant Executive Engineer Nagaraj, Assistant Engineer Harish and Office Superintendents came to the office on bicycles.

VIP reception for cyclists

For a change, those who came to the MUDA office on bicycles were welcomed with a smart full-arm salute by the security guard who opened the gate for them and showed them their parking slots. On the contrary, those came in cars or riding motor-bikes or scooters were not allowed inside the premises. They had to park their vehicles along the road outside.

Other cyclists

ZP CEO Ajay Nagabhushan, ADC Naga Naik from Vijayanagar, DC (Transport) Narayana Swamy and Information Department Deputy Director Prakash from Bogadi were among the early cyclists while Palace Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya cycled to his office from his house in K.C. Layout —a good 12 kms. In between, he also attended a meeting at the residence of District In-Charge Minister S.A. Ramdas in J.P. Nagar, pedaling all the way.

MCC oblivious

The cycling campaign was given a cold shoulder by the staff of Mysore City Corporation (MCC) as none of the officials rode bicycles to reach their office today.

DC's office

Though most of the top level officials of the DC's office arrived on bicycles, the DC himself had to rush to H.D. Kote on an urgent work. He however will be cycling to the office from his home in the afternoon, it is learnt.

Many officials were seen alighting from city buses near their offices while several others walked the distance. Many women staff were seen being dropped by their relatives some distance away from their office, from where they walked.

None in the Police Department joined in the campaign, which is expected to get more response next Monday as several officials were not altogether prepared for taking up cycling.

Good job Sarkari babus

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Underlining that ‘walk-to-work' would reduce environmental impact of transportation and improve quality of life, CII president Adi B. Godrej said the industry body was working with several State governments on policy guidelines for development of new green cities as also greening existing urban areas.

Speaking on ‘Moving towards a green economy' organised to mark World Environment Day at the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Building Centre here on Tuesday, he said that CII was working on ‘India @ 75 agenda' for making India a moderately developed nation by 2022. To achieve that goal, India has to be a leader in green business and play a significant role in global green economy.

He said the Indian industry realised that ecological sustainability was important for growth of the country as well as industry. The industry had done well on energy efficiency and the energy intensity of India's GDP reduced by nearly 20 per cent between 1996 and 2007. “Other areas, where we have done significantly well is Green Buildings”. What started as a demonstration building here had led to over 1650 registered green building projects amounting to over 1.16 billion sq.ft of green building footprint.

“This initiative of the CII has put India on the global map. India has the second highest green building footprint in the world next to USA”, Mr. Godrej added.

Referring to urbanisation, he said presently 30 per cent of India lives in urban areas and it is expected to increase to more than 50 per cent in the next 30 years. Integrated planning of cities with close proximity between office/ work place and residential place was important.

Green fund

He said CII also developed a rating system to assess how green a company was and cited various areas in which it was working including green power and creating a green fund.

TH

Surat: Policy for green buildings on anvil
Gurgaon realty focuses on developing Green buildings
How green is Chennai?
Green buildings gain momentum in India

[Krishnamoorthy K]

By Express News Service - BANGALORE 23rd June 2012 09:27 AM


Water problems and increasing air pollution are some of the major concerns. These were some of the main problems highlighted in the Environment Report Card (ERC) of Bangalore 2012. (File photo)

For every new entrant into the state, Bangalore is the eyes, to look at Karnataka. The city’s bustling population which is nearly 8.5 million, is growing at the rate of 46 per cent. Water problems and increasing air pollution are some of the major concerns. These were some of the main problems highlighted in the Environment Report Card (ERC) of Bangalore 2012. Jointly prepared by the Centre for Sustainable Development and IBM, the report highlights the areas where the city has failed and has lauded the officials for the areas where they scored better.

The frame of reference in the report was similar to the one prepared in 2005, highlighting the problems faced by the city then. S V Ranganath, Chief Secretary, R Sridharan, Principal Secretary Forest, Environment and Ecology, along with A S Sadashivaiah, Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Amit Sharma, VP and GM, IBM India released the report, in the presence of Shankarlinge Gowda, Commissioner, BBMP and Gaurav Gupta, MD, BWSSB.

Explaining the three-pronged approach used to conduct the report, R Srinivas, executive director, Centre for Sustainable Development said, “Volunteers have evaluated the baseline information on the existing environment, citizens’ perception of the environment and finally the government’s efforts to mitigate the environmental problems.”

The multi-stage stratified sampling was carried out to cover different economic stratas. Volunteers conducted a door-to-door survey involving 1,657 households and 108 commercial establishments. Officials highlighted that such co-ordinated efforts to work on the failures and increase the success rate will help the city.

TNIE

Groundwater depletion causes concern for Bangalore
550 trees to be axed for flyover

[engineer.akash]

Now, cycle around the palace

On wheels:Visitors riding cycles on the Mysore palace premises on Monday.— Photo: M.A. SRIRAM

The Mysore Palace Board on Monday introduced a system to rent cycles and umbrellas for tourists to go around the palace premises.

Deputy Commissioner P.S. Vastrad, who is also the executive officer of the Mysore Palace Board, inaugurated the facility. Ten cycles and 50 umbrellas are available for use after a deposit, which is refundable, is made.

Committee

Mr. Vastrad told presspersons that a committee had been set up to identify roads within a radius of 2 km in the city and provide dedicated space for cyclists.

He said the Director, Urban Development, had been invited to the city in connection with the launch of bicycle sharing system here.

Palace Board deputy director T.S. Subramanya was present.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle3571662.ece

Good going Namma Mysore,we can now walk and cycle both on namma mysore roads.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Paul John, TNN Jun 20, 2012, 04.02PM IST

AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) has brought out its town planning map for Bareja area in the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The plan is being put in public domain for a month for objections or suggestions from the public. After the relevant objections are received the state urban development department will analyse these objections.

"There are private lands through which certain civic services pass according to this map. There is a wide town planning road for Bareja town and an industrial hub also. Zoning for residential an commercial activities is also being marked," says a senior AUDA official.

Bareja is an industrial town connected with mainland regional rail and local bus services. In future there are plans of it being developed as a n important transit station too along with Kalol, Sanand, Mehmedabad, Dehgam and Gandhinagar. "There are provisions or affordable housing also in the TP scheme," adds the official.

TOI

Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology to help develop ancient Chinese city

[Krishnamoorthy K]

The Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which provides real-time information on the time of arrival of buses on intra-city routes, is expected to be ready in the next two months.

Described as a “unique project” taken up with the idea of redefining urban transport here, ITS is being implemented at a cost of Rs. 22.76 crore. It is part of the Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) and the World Bank and Union government have signed an agreement in this regard.

While the Ministry of Urban Development will give Rs. 12 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the World Bank will provide Rs. 9 crore. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will fund the remaining amount.

The ITS has been developed adopting technologies such as global positioning system (GPS) and geographical information system. A KSRTC official, on condition of anonymity, told The Hindu that work on the system was progressing at a fast pace. “The job needs to be done meticulously as there are many aspects. Installation of electronic devices in buses, GIS mapping of routes etc. are part of it.”

CMM, an IT solutions company and a subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services, bagged the contract for developing the system. Real-time information on the arrival of buses at a bus stop will be displayed on electronic display systems at that particular bus stop.

Details collected

The company has already collected details on the number of buses being operated on intra-city routes, bus schedules, bus terminals and stops. Under the system, the entire fleet of intra-city service buses here will be installed with GPS devices and the buses will be tracked from a control room to feed real-time data on the arrival of buses at bus stops.

There are plans to put up electronic display systems at Inter-Modal Transit Centres (IMTCs) as well.

Access on cellphones

Information on the arrival of buses at a particular bus-stop can also be accessed on mobile phones. “We are programming the system in such a way that the time of arrival of buses can be accessed on mobile phones by entering the bus-stop code and sending an SMS to a number that will be provided once the system is implemented,” the official said.

* Intelligent Transport System is expected to be ready in two months
* Real-time information on arrival of buses at a bus stop will be displayed at that stop

TH

[Krishnamoorthy K]

On its 2,525km journey from Gomukh to Bay of Bengal, the Ganga, which is supposed to be the lifeline of the millions of people, seems to have lost its way near Patna. People residing on the bank of the Ganga around Digha and Bansghat areas in the city see the river on the horizon. It has shifted its course away from the city by more than three kms in the last three decades.

The river stretch once used for passenger ships cruising from Mahendru Ghat to Pahlezaghat, Hajipur, has turned into farm lands. The dry bed of the Ganga is also being used as a playground by the cricket lovers. Almost all the ghats are stinking, littered with heaps of garbage and sewage all around.

But, thanks to the recent initiative taken by the Nitish Kumar government, the neglected and unused portion of the Ganga is likely to be developed into a world city soon. The change in the course of the river at various points has ended up facilitating the long-awaited and much needed Ganga beautification drive as the government is keen on using the reclaimed land for the purpose. Some concrete plans are afoot to beautify the entire stretch of the Ganga, in and around Patna, and also to minimize the pollution of the river water by checking indiscriminate discharge of sewage water into the river.

Quite recently, Hafeez Contractor, one of India's best known architects, submitted to the state government his plan to develop a world city alongside the river Ganga here, on the lines of Dubai, that will boast of eco-friendly buildings and water sports facilities. The plan, highly appreciated by chief minister Nitish Kumar, envisages a new city spread over an area of 1,700 acres. This would include residential, commercial and entertainment centres on 300 acres, while 350 acres would be developed as green fields. A park on the lines of New York Park would be developed on 600 acres. Other facilities like seven-star hotels, malls and shopping centres, schools, hospitals, health clubs, meditation centres, art galleries, convention centres and sports centres would also be created in the planned city.

Urban development minister Prem Kumar told TOI that Contractor's proposal is under active consideration of the state government, but a final decision in the matter is yet to be taken. For making Ganga pollution free, the state government would set up sewage treatment plants along its banks from Buxar to Bhagalpur.

The state government has sanctioned plans for sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Patna, Buxar, Hajipur, Munger and Begusarai, the minister said and added that officials concerned had been directed to prepare detailed project reports for the rest 21 towns located on the banks of Ganga. The sewerage network and sewerage treatment plants (STPs) at Patna are to be constructed under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) at an estimated cost of Rs 330 crore. The sewerage network and the STPs would clean the sewerage water of these towns and the treated water of designated standards would be discharged into Ganga, said an official of the state urban and housing department.

The current sewage network and the STPs at Patna are insufficient to cater to the requirements of the city. Patna, presently, generates around 350 million litres per day (MLD) of sewerage, which gets treated at four STPs, which have a combined capacity of only 109 MLD. The STP at Saidpur has a capacity to treat 45 MLD, another at Beur can treat 35 MLD, the STP at Pahadi has a capacity of 25 MLD while the Karmalichak plant has a capacity of 4 MLD only. The rest goes into the river untreated.

As about 29 drains in the state capital discharge 350 million litres of sewage into the Ganges every day, the river's water has become highly contaminated. It has been declared unfit for drinking and even for a holy dip. Samples of water tested in different laboratories have revealed a high presence of Cauliform bacteria. "The water is untreated and garbage is dumped into the river contributing to the growth of this bacteria," said environmentalist Mehta Nagendra Singh.

The Union government has sanctioned Rs 440 crore for development of the drainage system in four cities of Bihar —Begusarai, Buxar, Hajipur and Munger. Besides, 19 cities and towns on the banks of Ganga in Bihar will be developed. For this, the Union government has sanctioned Rs 3,100 crore. The project would be funded by World Bank.

TOI

Good that sewage treatment plants are planned. Where would the solid garbage go?

[Krishnamoorthy K]

COIMBATORE: Nearly 47% of people in the state live in urban areas and ensuring sufficient water for their needs is a challenge in the urban planning. Serious attempts to be made to protect the wetlands in the urban areas, said R Ilangovan, executive engineer, PWD. He was delivering a talk on 'Urban Wetland Conservation Challenges and Solutions in Coimbatore'. He also said that the wetlands in Coimbatore can be protected using modern technological advancements.

"Tamil Nadu has the largest growing urban population in the country. The need of the urban people can only be met through harvesting ground water," he said.

The main concern is that the untreated sewage water is mixed with the ground water. This leads to losing of oxygen content in the water making it unsuitable for consumption, he said.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

AHMEDABAD: After floating restaurants, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) has sought bids from operators who could run amphibious bus in the river. This bus can operate on land and in water.

The plan is to ply the bus across the 11.5 km stretch of the present riverfront. The amphibious bus generally is employed for organizing 'duck tours' for sightseers on large lakes or rivers. Duck tours are quite popular in river and lake cities, like Halifax, Albany, Austin, Baltimore, Branson, Chattanooga, Cincinnati-Newport, Pittsburgh, Belfast, Washington DC.

According to the proposal, the operator has to provide the service, and operate and maintain the vehicles. While the SRFDCL will provide space and infrastructure for embarking points, ticketing boots, ramps for lowering the bus into water and waiting area.

The tender further states that the licenses for operating these services will be issued for a period of two years.

"The bus will be part of the elaborate entertainment package that we are planning for the riverfront," said a senior AMC official. "The bus will not only be a mode of transport but also a good sightseeing facility for tourist, who visit the city," added the official. He claimed that some companies have already shown interested in the plan.

Such buses usually have hydrojets that propel them forward in water. The engines are quite powerful and can carry up to 50 passengers on a trip. Though the speed of an amphibious bus is equivalent to a streamer in water, on land it runs like any other similar-sized vehicle.

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Terracon Ecotech Pvt Ltd (TEPL) today announced its futuristic study being prepared to benchmark City Biodiversity Index for Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). This in association with UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) is designed to help City's authorities to gauge city's biodiversity health and devise forward looking Indices for the first time in India. This will include MBMC in exclusive list of global cities like London and Singapore. Also, this will showcase MBMC and India's intention to support the biodiversity cause at the 11th meeting of the Parties for the International Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) scheduled to be held at Hyderabad, India in the month of October this year.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, June 5, 2012 /India PRwire/ -- Building upon its deep expertise in the field of biodiversity and ecology, TEPL will be conducting and preparing City Biodiversity Index for MBMC in partnership with International Convention of Biological Diversity. As per the latest trend and UN report, about 50% of global population is living in the urban areas; this figure is expected to cross 70% by 2050. This discourse will have huge stress on the fast growing developing country like India, where cities will witness large migration of the people from rural economy to urban economy in search of better livelihood. Looking at these challenges to have sustainable development in the cities where humans and ecology can live in harmony rather in conflict, Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation decided to engage Terracon Ecotech® Pvt Ltd to undertake this study.

"After having successfully completed a comprehensive Tree Census & Mangrove Biodiversity project, Terracon approached us with the idea of measuring the city biodiversity index. The concept was very appealing and since it is first of it's kind to be done for any city in India we decided to go ahead with it immediately. Infrastructure development and urbanization has put a tremendous pressure on the environmental resources in most of the big cities and Mira-Bhayandar is not an exception. With this project, MBMC will now have a benchmark base index and this will help us improving the index by undertaking various programs, activities and conservation efforts" says Vikram Kumar, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation.

City Biodiversity Index is an exercise to be carried out by city's administration in which a city's efforts in conserving its natural resources are scored. It serves as a self-assessment tool to promote better management of resources and conservation of biodiversity internationally. Also, it is a platform through which cities can share solutions for conserving biodiversity and overcoming the problems of increased urbanization, climate change, city planning and management.

The Index has a total of 23 indicators that look at three main components: native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and governance & management of biodiversity. Native biodiversity component consists of 10 indicators, Ecosystem services component has a total of 4 indicators and Governance and management has a total of 9 indicators. This is a comprehensive & extensive study where team of experienced Botanists, Zoologists, Taxonomists and Social Scientists will complete the survey and prepare the report.

This exercise provides an insight into a city's performance. Index helps in monitoring the progress of the city's biodiversity and maintains the global benchmark to have healthy ecosystem. This index provides opportunity to formulate better urban planning on the basis of index. It will help policy makers in devising better strategy to make cities resilient to risks posed by unbalanced development, growth and climate change.

"Terracon is really glad to be a part of this initiative since it takes us beyond mere data collection and allows us to create knowledge and actionable agenda based on the baseline data we gather. It also aids in bringing cities around the world closer to each other and opens up a platform for better communication in terms of biodiversity issues", comments Dr. Ramesh Madav, Director & Chief - Ecology & Restoration, Terracon Ecotech Pvt Ltd.

indiaPRwire

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Press Trust of India / Chandigarh June 26, 2012, 19:05

Draft Development Plan 2031 for four Haryana towns of Kurukshetra, Farukhnagar, Sohna and Rohtak was today approved by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to ensure future development in a planned manner.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of the State Level Committee of Town and Country Planning Department held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, an official release said.

The Chief Minister directed officers to identify land for developing air-strip at Kurukshetra to boost tourism at the pilgrim town, which is expected to attract more people from across the world after the Balaji temple comes up there.

Hooda also directed to earmark two sectors in these towns to be exclusively developed by Haryana Urban Development Authority. Each sector would be developed in an area of 250 to 300 acres, he added.

The Draft Development Plan of Farukhnagar in Gurgaon district has been prepared for a projected population of 1.10 lakh by the year 2031. A total area of 942.5 hectares would be developed with residential density of 250 persons per hectare. As many as 40 per cent of the area would be developed as residential and about 6.83 per cent as industrial sector.

In Sohna in Gurgaon district, an area of 6,110 hectares would be developed with residential density of 300 persons per hectare. The Draft Development Plan of Sohna town has been prepared for projected population of six lakh persons. Under the plan, over 28 per cent area would be developed as residential and 20 per cent for industrial purpose.

Draft Development Plan for Rohtak has been prepared for a projected population of 13 lakh persons by the year 2031. An area of 13364.06 acres would be developed with residential density of 250 persons per hectare by the year 2031. About 28.81 per cent of total area would be developed as residential and 14.84 per cent area as industrial.

BS

Reliance asks Haryana to declare agri land 'urban'

[Krishnamoorthy K]

McKinsey Global says these cities would generate about 47 per cent of expected global GDP by 2025
BS Reporter / Mumbai Jun 28, 2012, 00:43 IST

Urbanisation will lead to the creation of one billion new city consumers by 2025, said a study by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). The study said these will live in some 440 dynamic emerging market cities (the ‘Emerging 440’), that are set to generate close to half (47 per cent) of expected global GDP growth between 2010 and 2025. Among these, 36 cities are from India.

Richard Dobbs, a director of MGI based in Seoul, said: “At a time when mature economies are facing the challenges of de-leveraging and aging, the urbanisation wave in emerging markets is a positive force for global growth. The urban shift is changing the balance of the world economy, and governments. Investors and businesses need to ensure that they understand, and respond.”

It said while China is right in the middle of its sweeping urbanisation, while India is in the early stages of the process. “India is also urbanising, but the process is at a much earlier stage; today, only 30 per cent of the population lives in cities of all sizes and fewer than one in five lives in its large cities. However, we expect India’s cities to generate half of the nation’s GDP growth to 2025,” said the report. New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata were mentioned as the top three cities in India by growth in region.

The study pointed out that growing consumer classes will accelerate growth in demand for many goods and services . It explained that many large emerging economies, including China and India, were seeing higher shares of their populations moving into income segments where the consumption of many goods and services takes off rapidly. Indian cities alone are expected to contribute nearly 10 per cent of global growth in residential and commercial floor space demand to 2025.

The MGI report said to cater to their new urban consumers’ needs, cities will have to invest heavily in infrastructure. “Cities will require annual physical capital investment to more than double from nearly $10 trillion today to more than $20 trillion by 2025.”

Municipal water demand in large cities is expected to have to rise by 40 per cent from today's level by 2025—a rise of almost 80 billion cubic meters, more than 20 times what New York consumes today, the report said. The top two cities by expected growth in municipal water demand between 2010 and 2025 globally are Mumbai and Delhi.

The report said companies need to take a more scientific approach to locating the most promising markets for their businesses and then allocating resources pro-actively to capture the opportunities they offer. It said that identifying fast-growing segments in emerging cities not currently on the radar will be a necessary skill.

The report also mentioned that the public policy agenda is different in the developed and developing urban world. “Rapidly growing cities in the developing world face a complex and challenging task to keep pace with their expanding populations: investment, planning, and meeting the labour aspirations of their new inhabitants. For the more mature cities of developed economies, the challenge is different: city leaders are more likely to be grappling with growth that is too slow,” said the report.

It added that local and national governments will need to ensure they are connected to emerging market hubs. For example, physically through airports, as well as re-directing their commercial and diplomatic efforts towards the regions most likely to shape the 21st century.

BS

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Subhro Niyogi, TNN | Jun 29, 2012, 02.22AM IST

A devastating cyclone will strike the state in April 2050, inundating coastal regions of East Midnapore and the Sunderbans. This will trigger flash migration to urban centres and send Kolkata reeling. Parks will turn into slums and every inch of free space will be occupied.

In the cruel summer that will follow, the mercury will breach the 42 degree celcius mark. Radiation from sun rays reflecting off the steel and glass buildings and exhaust from AC cars and homes will push the temperature higher by another 2 degree. With lakhs of people exposed to the heat, thousands will fall ill and hundreds will drop dead due to heat stroke. Egg production will also nosedive due to heat stress on livestock.

The situation will get worse as water scarcity will hit large pockets. With aquifers running low and arsenic spreading into ground water in north and central Kolkata, rationing of water will become a way of life. Statewide, demand for water for agriculture, industry, domestic use, forest/ecology and energy will skyrocket from 106.18 to 452.82 billion billion cubic metre.

In June, cloud bursts will inundate large sections of the city. In the following weeks, incidents of cholera, diarrhoea and enteric fever will spiral. Malaria cases will shoot up not just in Kolkata but in upper reaches of Darjeeling as well. Large quantities of vegetables will perish as cloudbursts will leave farms in North and South 24-Parganas waterlogged. The lack of tolerance in hybrid seeds will make matter worse... Flooding has been affecting Aman production over the past several years and delivers a crippling blow in the crisis year.

In Kolkata, water refuses to recede. Largescale concretization and encroachment of wetlands over past several decades has left hardly any soak pit in and around the city.

These predictions of Kolkata in Circa 2050 may be dismissed by a section of scientists, but they are outnumbered by a huge margin by those in the fraternity who believe in such an eventuality if remedial measures are not taken today.

"It isn't just climate change that may trigger a series of events. Erosion of land along Bengal's coastline is a huge threat. Given the vast population pressure in the Sunderbans, which has led to people settling even in spillage areas beyond embankments, natural calamities will lead to large scale displacement and migration to urban centres. Kolkata, being the nearest city, will bear the brunt," said Jadavpur University School of Oceanographic Studies joint director Gautam Sen.

Joyashree Roy, coordinator of Global Change Programme at JU and a member of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, felt rise in migration will hurt Kolkata most if the city fails to prepare itself for the situation. "Denying effects of climate change will hurt the state and the city. Given the frequency of extreme events, Kolkata will have to deal with migration periodically. Planning and preparedness is needed for a metropolis that is already stressed," she pointed out.

The domino effect of migration will touch every sphere, overwhelming infrastructure, services and sensibilities. Even the last bastions of pedestrian-free space around Victoria Memorial Hall will be over-run by the human deluge.

"The government needs to grab the situation by the collar and face it head on. A study of base and peak load population is essential to decide on how much to augment the infrastructure," Roy reasoned.

The other factor that has scientists worried is the erratic rainfall pattern. Kalyani University environment department head S C Santra feels that will pose the biggest challenge, reducing agriculture output and affecting crop security. Shortage of feed will also affect livestock. "Many crops cannot take high heat and water stress. With aman production getting hit due to waterlogging, there is more emphasis on boro crop that requires irrigation. To sustain it, we need to increase surface water storage, recharge ground water and rejuvenate rivers. If we fail to plan, food security will be compromised," said Santra.

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR WATER:

Increase water storage

Make rooftop rainwater harvesting mandatory

Desilt canals and drains

Regulate ground water extraction

Improve drainage system

Recharge by afforestation in different sections of city

Extend metering of water and charge water use

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR AGRICULTURE:

Plan agro-climatic zone wise production of crops to maximize productivity

Popularize indigenous rice variety and introduce cultivars of rice and maize that are heat resistant and can endure water stress

Popularize integrated farming system by combining crop, livestock and fisheries

Provide shades by planting trees in fields to avoid heat stress affect on crops

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR HEALTH:

Inititate research on impacts of climate change on vector, respiratory and water borne diseases

Develop nutrition policy

Integrate climate change in health disaster risk reduction plans for cyclones, floods and droughts

ADAPTATION STRATEGIES FOR POWER:

Increase share of renewable in grid power by 20% by 2020

Make rooftop solar water heating modules compulsory

Undertake research to assess the impacts of climate change on power infrastructure

TOI

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Published: Thursday, Jun 28, 2012, 15:25 IST
By Merlin Francis | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

Taking a long-term and holistic approach to not just decongest Bangalore’s roads, but to discourage migration of people to the city from peripheral districts, the Rail India Technical and Economical Services (RITES) has presented commuter rail system (CRS) as an effective transport option.

The RITES, in its report submitted to the directorate of urban land transport, said that although most city planners do not look at the rail system as a solution to its problems, or consider it in their plans, “the inherent advantages and large potential of railway as a suburban/urban transport system cannot be ignored.”

While countering the traffic problems in Bangalore, CRS tries to address it by taking rail to neighbouring districts, while Metro concentrates only at commuting in the core areas of the city, the report said.

According to the report, urban planning has the mechanism to disperse population and ensure that no location gets densely populated beyond manageable levels. “While the first step towards this is building roads, beyond certain distance it becomes impractical as they take unacceptably high journey times. The CRS has major potential in this regard.”

Although the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) has investment plans to the tune of Rs73,300 crore up to 2031 (according to its structural plan, which is yet to be approved by the government), this does not include rail.
Metro vs CRS

CRS will have 3.3 times the capacity of Metro. The capacity of a broad gauge coach is 26% more on account of width alone. Length of CRS trains is also much more than that of Metro, which is fixed at six coaches.

A suburban train can have up to 27 coaches. A metro train usually runs 20 trains per hour. With only six paths being cleared every hour, a suburban rail will be able to reach the same capacity of Metro.

While Metro costs about Rs250 crore per km for an elevated track and at least Rs400- Rs500 crore for underground tracks, a commuter rail costs just about Rs15 crore to Rs20 crore.

DNA

What about land acquisition cost for CRS? Does Rs. 15 crore per km include land acquisition cost? As existing tracks are already congested new tracks have to be laid.

[Krishnamoorthy K]

Bangalore, June 28, 2012, DHNS:

The Centre for Science and Environment, in a report, has tore apart the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s projection of facade of development with an unrealistic budge. The report brings out the City’s failure to manage its sewage and precious water. CSE director Sunita Narain aptly puts it, “Bangalore is drowning in its own excreta.”

Sunita was quick to emphasise that Bangaloreans were by no means “unique”. At the la*unch of the seventh edition of the CSE State of India’s Environment Report titled ‘Excr*eta Matters’, she said cities ac*ross the country were doing equ*ally bad. By neglecting sew*a*ge, its treatment, recycle and re-use, urban India was not on*ly allowing wastage of water but also polluting water reso*urces.

“Bangalore too, having turned its back to a very scientific design of its water-sewage system given to it by its initial developers, has found itself in a sad state of affairs, killing lakes and unable to manage water and sewage. But you are not alone or unique. Cities across India are in a bad shape when it comes to sewage treatment and mangement of water,” she said.

The report is based on a survey of 71 Indian cities and how they have managed their water and sewage, including three cities of Karnataka, Bangalore, Tumkur and Hubli-Dharwad.

Cities always plan for water, never for waste, Sunita said. Bangaloreans must understand that 80 per cent of the water that flows into homes here goes as sewage. Water generates waste, therefore, more water means more sewage which must be accounted for. Sunita was clear that cities, including Bangalore had no clue how they will convert the waste, treat it and clean rivers.

Bangalore has 3,610 km of underground drainage in the core area alone and the city generates about 800-1,000 million litres of sewage a day. “The city has 14 sewage treatment plants with a capacity to treat 781 million litre a day, not too far from the sewage generated but it only treats about 300-400 litre a day as the remaining is not even sent to the plants. That is the tragedy,” she pointed out.

The remainder of the sewage is just mixed with the water bodies in the city, polluting them. She said Bangalore’s underground water have sho*wn traces of nitrate. “This is not an agricultural area, so the nitrate content is a clear indication of sewage.”

Deccan Herald