The move will ensure synchronised growth of the two cities.
After bringing 68 villages of Kadi, Kalol, Daskroi and Sanand talukas under the purview of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda), a move which increased the Auda’s geographical limits by almost 700 sq km in one go, the state government is now planning another big leap. The proposed merger of Auda and Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority (Guda) will increase the city’s horizons by many folds and give a major thrust to development of the two cities.
Highly-placed sources in the state government said, “Considering the requirement of a planned development of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and the fast pace of the growth of the two cities, the state government has planned merger of the two urban development authorities as it will ensure a more synchronised and planned development.”
At present, the Auda’s limit has expanded and almost goes up to Adalaj, Kalol, Dahegam and Koba, the areas surrounding the Guda limits. At present, the distance between the limits of the two authorities are only seven km, both have different rules and regulations and work completely on their own.
Sources said the co-ordination between the authorities is very limited as far as executing their plans is concerned. Both the authorities plan their projects according to their own ideas and as such a holistic planning is missing at present.
“Considering the development needs of highly ambitious projects, such as Gujarat Finance and Tech City (Gift) and Metro rail between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, merger of both the authorities are required,’’ said the sources, adding that, “The government is also planning to develop Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar as twin Cities. For this purpose too, the merger of the two authorities is important.
The region needs to be developed in planned manner considering the future needs. We need to plan roads as well as commercial, residential and industrial zones for the area.”
Sources said, “The idea is still in an early stage. Due to Lok Sabha elections, the government could not pursue it for a while, but will now take it up as a priority. There are many technical and legal issues — funds, management, rules and regulations and licensing powers — which have to be sorted out before the merger. At present, Auda gets fund under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), while Gandhinagar is not in the JNNURM list yet. Moreover, Gandhinagar is a notified area, so if the government wants to merge both the bodies it needs to change the status and may have to create a municipality.’’
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