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Urban Planning

Rope in experts, say urban planners

Wednesday, 30 November 2011 08:56 administrator
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The Hindu         30.11.2011

Rope in experts, say urban planners

Anil Radhakrishnan

“Not much groundwork” on city master plan

With just one month left for the submission of the revised master plan of Thiruvananthapuram city to the State government, urban planners have urged the Corporation to give a professional touch to the vision statement by roping in experts or outsource the preparation of the plan to a reputed consultant, preferably with global recognition.

Urban planners who attended a workshop on the master plan, held at the City Corporation office last week, said the way the workshop moved along showed that not much ground work had been done in preparing the revised master plan.

Councillors who participated in the deliberations expressed anguish over “lack of information” and the need for additional time to harness inputs and make the exercise a meaningful one.

The new master plan, now on the drawing board, is aimed at focussing on a land-use plan up to 2031, traffic and transportation, other infrastructure, and a heritage plan. Experts and professionals with talent and expertise should be roped in for preparing the master plan as development of waterfront areas, leisure and entertainment facilities, and maintenance of open spaces and parks are the thrust areas in infrastructure planning for the capital city.

Housing for the migrant population and rapid urbanisation will have to be factored into the development plans.

“It was apparent that two forces were already pulling the exercise in different directions — political interests trying to scuttle the process on the one hand, and a section genuinely concerned about methodology, validity, and transparency on the other,” an urban planner, who attended the workshop, said.

“The master plan will have to paint a social perspective of where the city has to be positioned and its inhabitants in the global scenario. Such a gigantic responsibility was being discharged by a group of relatively inexperienced people,” he said. Concerns were also raised by some councillors about the working groups created for the preparation of the master plan.

While the government has a pool of appreciable talent, exposure to the projects like preparing a master plan for a State capital are inadequate. “A master plan has to be the effort of numerous experts and professionals, fine-tuned at each level, and consolidated by a visionary. What is in display, today, is a study in contrast,” another planner, who specialises in urban transport, said.

An urban planner said that from the display of ignorance, incompetence, and political considerations affecting the master plan, it was essential that the work should be outsourced to a consultant. “The recommendations of the consultant should be finalised democratically by putting them to discussions, rather than taking a bottom-up approach,” he added.

  • ‘Plan will have to paint a social perspective'
  • Councillors concerned over ‘lack of information'
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    ‘Recharing groundwater is key to survival’

    Monday, 11 July 2011 08:01 administrator
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    The Times of India        11.07.2011

    ‘Recharing groundwater is key to survival’

    Rachna Singh, TNN | Jul 11, 2011, 04.32am IST

    JAIPUR: For managing urban water reservoirs in future, architects and town planners would have to incorporate rainwater harvesting techniques. Though water harvesting has become mandatory in all buildings, a lot of surface run off water from roads and parking lots can be effectively used to re-charge ground water.

    According to Jaipur-based Prof Prithvi Singh Kandhal, associate director emeritus, National Center for Asphalt Technology based at Auburn University Alabama, US: "In Rajasthan, the groundwater is plunging at an alarming rate. Jaipur is a very good example. According to the Central Underground Water Board of India, all underground water will disappear in about 10 years. Hence architects and town planners must be proactive to integrate rainwater harvesting techniques in the design of all buildings, including parking lots and streets. This would significantly recharge the ground water in overexploited/critical urban areas."

    Rajasthan receives a scant 16 inches of rain annually. Most of it is during June to September, leaving the soil to parch the rest of the year. "The porous asphalt pavement which can be used for parking lot or low-volume traffic streets works like this. The top 75 mm asphalt layer is specially designed to make it porous. Rainwater goes through it rapidly," said Kandhal.

    The water is then stored in an underlying open-graded stone bed, which is about 225 mm thick. From there, water percolates slowly into the underlying soil. There is hardly any evaporation loss. The porous parking lot or street can be integrated with rainwater harvesting techniques into the design of buildings and parking lots. Give me a 10 ft wide street and I can demonstrate it for JDA," said Khandhal.

    "Porous asphalt pavement is one of the responses to plunging ground water table in Jaipur and elsewhere in India. It can be integrated with the roof rainwater harvesting system effectively and economically. Properly designed and constructed porous asphalt pavement can last more than 20 years. Such a pavement can be used for parking lots, recreational areas, and low-volume-traffic roads and streets. Government should encourage (and mandate in critical areas) construction of porous asphalt pavements in urban spaces," said Khandhal.

    Based on Prof Khandhal's expertise, The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has developed porous asphalt pavement technology for the parking lots.
     

    Drive to clear parking spaces: municipal body files caveats

    Friday, 01 July 2011 04:42 administrator
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    The Hindu       01.07.2011

    Drive to clear parking spaces: municipal body files caveats

    Staff Correspondent

    The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) on Thursday filed caveats in the district court and the Circuit Bench of the Karnataka High Court with regard to the drive to clear parking areas in commercial buildings of Hubli and Dharwad.

    HDMC Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra toldThe Hindu that the caveats were filed with regard to 10 of the 12 buildings where encroachment of parking spaces remained despite notices issued by the corporation.

    Phases

    It may be recalled that the corporation had begun a special drive to clear encroachments of parking spaces in commercial buildings in a phased manner.

    In the first phase, 45 buildings were identified and their owners issued notices, following which the owners cleared the encroachments on their own. In the second phase, 45 more building owners were issued notices.

    So far, 33 of them had begun the process of clearing encroachments before the deadline.

    However, even after the notice period elapsed, 12 building owners refused to fall in line.

    No special treatment

    As these buildings are centrally located and the owners are considered to be influential persons, the HDMC is taking all precautions to ensure that the drive goes on unhindered.

    The corporation has already requested the Hubli Electricity Supply Company (HESCOM) and the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) to disconnect the power and water supply lines to the buildings as their owners had failed to respond to the notices.

    Dr. Chandra had earlier made it clear that the HDMC would serve a final notice, which would have to be responded to within 24 hours, or the structures encroaching the parking spaces would be demolished.

    He said that the cost incurred by the corporation to demolish the illegal structures would be recovered from the builders.

    On Thursday, Dr. Chandra said that caveats would be filed with regard to the remaining buildings, and subsequently final notices would be issued.

  • Twelve of 45 erring building owners have not responded to notices

  • HDMC has directed that supply of power and water to the structures be disconnected

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