TOWN PLANNING DETAILS OF GANDHINAGAR CITY. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE NEW MASTER PLAN DIFFERENCES AND DETAILS

1. Gandhinagar Master Plan Study
Anoushka Tyagi...Manvi Singh...Neha Uniyal | 4th Year | 8th Semester
Town Planning

2. LOCATED 23 KM NORTH OF AHEMDABAD
PLANNED IN 1960s BY PRAKASH M APTE & H. K. MEWADA
Gandhinagar
•Gandhinagar district is an administrative division
of Gujarat, India, whose headquarters are at Gandhinagar, the
state capital.
•It was organized in 1964.
•Gandhinagar is located in central Gujarat, vadodra and
Ahemdabad are located in the north.
•It is a planned city situated on the Ahmedabad-
Vadodara highway, Gandhinagar is the commercial heart of
Gujarat and western India.
•Gandhinagar is being developed as infocity.
AREA:
It has an area of 649 km², and a population of
13,34,455(13LAKHS)
DENSITY:
660 inhabitants per square kilometer

3. STREETS
• Gandhinagar's streets are numbered (eg. road no.
1, road no. 2 up to road no. 7)
• Cross streets named for letters of the Gujarati alphabet
(e.g., "k", "kh", "g", "gh", "ch", "chh", "j")
• All streets are aligned at 30 deg. n-w and 60 deg. n-e,
to avoid direct glare of morning and evening sun while driving
• The Gujarat assembly building is in the centre of the city to
make it close to all the residents
CHARACTER OF THE CITY
•Infocity
•Gandhinagar has many educational institutions like DhirubhaiAmbani Institute of ICT, EDI,
Indian Plasma Research Institute, and Gujarat Law University.
•Gandhinagar's Education level is highest in Gujarat, 87.11% all over the Gujarat.
SECTORS
• Gandhinagar has 30 sectors which are of 1 km x .75 km each in length and width.
• Each sector has a primary school, a secondary school, a higher
secondary school, a medical dispensary, a shopping centre and
a maintenance office.
• Gandhinagar is developed on the neighborhood concept.

4. DEPARTMENTS WORKING IN GANDHINAGAR AND WHAT THEY DO:
•ROADS AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT(GOV of GUJARAT:
Work and Working system :-
The Town planning section of this office deals only with the Town Planning for Gandhinagar City and
the peripheral area of the city. The office deals with following activities.
•Preparing master plan of the city and areas outside.
•Preparing layout of major roads and rail lines in the region.
•Preparing layouts for residential area.
•Preparing Layouts for Commercial areas.
•Preparing Layout for Industrial areas.
•Preparing layouts for special buildings such as Capital complex, Town hall and other public buildings.
•Preparing layouts landscaping of public buildings, parks and other public areas.
•Guidance in policy regarding allotment of land.
•Guidance for size of plot and land price in allotment of land.
•Suggesting plots for auction for various uses along with base price.
•Preparing of Building Byelaws for the city and the peripheral areas.
•Suggesting Changes in the Byelaws from time to time.
•Permission for construction and completion of buildings as per the Bye-laws.
•Technical approval under the periphery Control Act 1960 for change of use (Section-11) as well
as to start construction under section 5/6 of the above Act.

5. •GUDA(GANDHINAGAR URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY):-one that drafts all the
Tp schemes and implements them
•Started on 12-3-96 by Govt. of Gujarat.
•The prime objective of the GUDA's formation was to carry out the sustained planned
development of the area failing outside the periphery of Gandhinagar Notified Area.
1.With a view to ensure well planned development of Gandhinagar capital city and 39 villages
admeasuring area of 388 sq km.
•The important functions of the Authority include the preparation of Development plan for
the Gandhinagar Urban Agglomeration,
-to prepare the draft Town Planning Schemes,
-to implement the revised Town Planning Schemes and
-to monitor and control the development activities in accordance with the Revised Development Plan.
•Besides, it is also responsible for the development of the infrastructures like road, sewerage, water supply and
other basic civic amenities.
MEMBERS:
•Hon. Chairman
•Secretary, R & B Department
•Collector, Gandhinagar District
•Chief Town Planner, Gujarat State (ex-officio member)
•M.D., GUDC, Gandhinagar, (Invited Member)
•Deputy Secretary, Urban Development Department
•M.L.A. of Gandhinagar, (Invited Member)
•President, Gandhinagar District Panchayat (ex-officio member)
•Financial Advisor, F.D. (Invited Member)
•C.E.A., AUDA, (Invited Member)
•C.E.A., GUDA, (Member Secretary)

6. • Planned as the administrative capital of the state, the current and future population
employed in state government offices was distributed in 30 residential sectors around
the State Assembly-Secretariat complex. Each residential sector could accommodate
about 50% of population, and was intended to house the half of the population
employed by the government.
• Plots on the periphery of each sector are meant for private and supporting population
that constitutes the remaining 50%.
• The city was planned for a population of 150,000 but can accommodate double that
population with increase in the floor space ratio from 1 to 2 in the areas reserved for
private development.
• The river being the border on the east, and the industrial area to the North, the most
logical future physical expansion of the city was envisaged towards the north-west.
Planning

7. • To establish and maintain a
separate identity for the new city,
the surrounding area of about 39
villages was brought under a
Periphery Control Act (as in
Chandigarh) that permitted new
development of farm houses only.
• The area later constituted a
separate administrative district of
Gandhinagar.
• The city was planned for a
population of 150,000 but can
accommodate double that
population with increase in the
floor space ratio from 1 to 2 in
the areas reserved for private
development.
• The river being the border on the
east, and the industrial area to
the North, the most logical future
physical expansion of the city was
envisaged towards the north-
west.

8. • Due to a constant military
confrontation with Pakistan, whose
borders are close from the city, a
large military presence was
required here. The land acquired
on the eastern bank, adjacent to
National Highway no.8, was
therefore allotted to the Border
Security force and military
cantonment.
• Considering the mostly south-
west to north-east wind direction,
the land to the north of the city
was allotted for the then biggest
thermal power station and the
adjacent areas were zoned for
industrial use. This area was
distanced from the township by a
2000 ft. wide green strip of thick
vegetation..

9. Gandhinagar Master Plan

10. FSI:
RESIDENTIAL:
•Ahmedabad is currently the real estate hot-spot in Gujarat, followed by Surat and Vadodara.
•The FSI fixed by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in R-2 zones (city outskirts)
is 1.2 and in R-1 zone, it is 1.8.
•allowing uniform free FSI of 1.8, barring the state capital of Gandhinagar
COMMERCIAL:
•Earlier:2.8 now allowing up to 4 FSI. “Under the ‘ease of doing business’
•housing and slum redevelopment, under which it will give over 3.0 FSI

11. Area of Sector: 75.70 hectare
Ground coverage: 13.08 hectare (16.65%)
Open Area: 59.28 hectare (78.30%)
Roads:
Primary Area: 9.82 hectare
Secondary Area: 3.12 hectare

12. LINKAGES AND CONNECTIVITY:
• National highway (nh) 8 and 8c runs
through the district connecting it with
major cities (20 km from city)
• Connected with Ahmedabad by the
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway (28 km) and
with Vadodara by the Ahmedabad-
Vadodara expressway (139 km)
• Distance from major industrial centres in
the state:
o Rajkot (249 km)
o Jamnagar (337 km)
o Valsad (373 km)
o Ankleshwar (223 km)
o Bhavnagar (228 km)
o Mehsana (68 km)
o Surat (306 km)
• Distance from major cities in India:
o Mumbai (573 km)
o Delhi (943 km)
o Kolkata (1952 km)
o Chennai (1854 km)

13. Consciously designed and planned axially based on egalitarian and Gandhian ethos.
The re-planning of Gandhinagar by the Consultants of Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority
(GUDA) has obliterated its identity as a capital city.
Unbridled capitalism has led to its debasement and inorganic extension resulting in Gandhinagar
becoming just another suburb of Ahmedabad.
Comparison between the original and the new plan

14. THE NEW PLAN (2002) :
The consultants recently appointed by GUDA have ignored that history and want the
expansion of the city to take place to the south.
• A southward expansion proposed by the consultants will merge it with Ahmedabad and
finally become its suburb, destroying its separate identity.
• This extension to the south has completely destroyed the plan's most important
concept, the central vista (Road no.4). It focuses on the capitol complex, and was
naturally to be extended to the north-west maintaining the axis, expanding the city
physically in that direction.
• Over 6000 acres of green cover to the
south west of the city has been designated
for residential use in an attempt to join with
the city of Ahmedabad. All this land, when
developed can accommodate a population
of over 600,000. The consultants thus
seek to destroy the identity of the new
capital city and make it a suburb of
Ahmedabad.
• The "Gamthan" (built up land in a village)
areas of 7 villages just abutting the city
limits of Gandhinagar are increased
arbitrarily (much beyond their natural growth
requirements) to allow private residential
development.

15. DISMANTLING OF IMPORTANT URBAN DESIGN FEATURES
• A major Area for cultural facilities, in the city square in sector 17 of the city centre is
proposed to be converted to commercial use, killing Gujarat's traditional concept of a
'city square' & destroying a major element of 'urban design' of the new capital city.
• An area along J road (along the river Sabarmati) across sector 9 covered by ravines,
was proposed for conservation as an adventure park. It is now designated by the
consultants for residential taking away a unique recreational facility.
• The open spaces at the junctions of all main roads of the city, left open in the original
plan to improve road geometrics in future, ornamental landscaping, road signage, guide
maps etc. are proposed to be filled up with roadside petty shops & hutments for the
immigrants giving the city a slum like look.

16. GANDHINAGAR MASTERPLAN 2026
Gandhi Nagar Master Plan 2026 provides the framework for rationalizing the orderly
movement of traffic and transportation within the city and defines the area for laying down
net-work of various services.
The plan is used for promoting integrated development of the urban centre by rationalizing
its pattern of land use and their interrelationship.
It also defines the strategies and solutions for overcoming the existing problems of the
urban centres and to overcome its infrastructural and service related inadequacies.
In addition, it provides options for accommodating the future addition to population which
is likely to come to the urban centre due to natural growth and migration.
Master Plan acts as a tool for determining the infrastructural cost which would be required
to make the city sustainable.
The plans offer futuristic solutions by laying down agenda for its growth
and development.

17. New schemes in gandhinagar:
•Metro between Gandhinagar and Ahemdabad:
Gift:
•GIFT city : It's full form is "Gujarat International
Finance Tec-City" .
•This place is 12 KM from the Ahmedabad
International Airport and 8 KM from Gandhinagar.
It is a Global Financial Hub.
To develop and implement the project, Gujarat
Urban Development Company Limited (GUDCOL) and
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) have
established a Joint Venture Company, "Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City Company Limited" (GIFTCL).
The estimated cost of the entire project is Rs. 70,000 crore (700 billion Rs).
Its main purpose is to provide high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, district
cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband), so that finance and tech firms can relocate their
operations there from Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon etc.