Cept student designs plan to incorporate Gift project into city.
Have you ever thought of the benefits that can come Amdavadis’ way if the Rs64,000 crore budget, earmarked for the Gujarat International Financial Tech (Gift) city project, is pumped into the city? According to a study conducted by a student of the urban design department of Cept University, if the multi-crore gift city project is planted in Ahmedabad itself, it will benefit lakhs of Amdavadis in numerous ways.
Taking the liberty to plan and visualise, Vijay Patel, a final-year student of masters programme in urban design, has analysed eastern Ahmedabad and identified the unused spaces in the area. His skills as an architect helped him sketch out a unique design on how to accommodate the proposed gift city in these unused spaces.
While talking about the feasibility of his project, Patel said, “The requirement for my project is the same as that of the Gift city. It is an academic project, but if there is a good political will, the project could be a reality.”
“The budget for Gift is huge, but the infrastructure for good connectivity will have to be built separately. However, if the gift city emerges in Ahmedabad itself, as I propose, people will not have to travel long distances to work. The budget can be used to develop the existing infrastructure, which will make Ahmedabad a world-class city,” added Patel.
Patel has identified an area of 6.430 million square metres in the city for accommodating the Gift city, which was originally planned on an area of 8.018 million square metres. Most of these spaces are closed mill lands. “A negotiation can be worked out by the government to acquire this unused land,” he said.
About the difference in the area conceived for the Gift city and that proposed by him, Patel said, “The areas I have identified may be smaller, but the number of residential buildings could be cut down since most of the workers could be from the neighbourhood, already having accommodation. Similarly, the retail space could also be cut down.”
Patel’s plan includes construction of a new railway station to the eastern side of the railway tracks opposite to the existing railway station. The new station will be connected with wider roads, and the city will have larger recreational spaces with more greenery.
Benefits of this giftEastern Ahmedabad will have better sanitation, good connectivity and a better transport system.
The city will have an entirely new look and world-class facilities.
People in the surrounding areas will have more employment opportunities and will be able to improve their quality of life.
There is less risk of failure in the plan as the existing city will directly support the new.
There are green spaces in the eastern part of the city. These can be developed to form a green corridor, which will contribute to a healthy environment.
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