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Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Dry spell turns into opportunity: Sabarmati River cleaning drive makes progress
Almost 13 years after the Sabarmati Riverfront was inaugurated by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2012, the 11.5 km-long stretch of the riverfront's Phase 1, stretching from Vasna Barrage till Torrent power house, is undergoing cleaning for the second time, however, first time on such a large scale with public participation. Highlighting the significance of the project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hosted three heads of state on the Sabarmati Riverfront, Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2014, Japanese premier Late Shinzo Abe in 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018. With other cities, including Pune and more recently Delhi planning to have their own riverfronts, even as Sabarmati which boasts to be the first riverfront in the country, the challenges concerning its maintenance and upkeep continue to pose a Herculean task before the administration. The stagnant riverfront will be expanded from 11.5 km to 38 km with the project being implemented in six phases. The Sabarmati Riverfront from Vasna Barrage till Chiloda Bridge near the thermal power plant in Gandhinagar, is set to run through districts of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Why this cleaning Due to pre-monsoon repair and maintenance work of gates at the Vasna Barrage, the Sabarmati Riverfront is running dry from May 12 till June 5. The barrage has around 30 gates and usually goes into pre-monsoon repair work annually. Also, as the work of constructing an earthen ramp in the upstream of Vasna Barrage is to be undertaken, the Sabarmati river is required to be completely emptied. Utilising the moment as an 'opportunity', the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL) — the city corporation's special purpose vehicle (SPV) launched in 1997 to execute the project — along with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has launched a joint cleaning campaign. Sharing details, SRFDCL Chairman I P Gautam told The Indian Express, 'We are taking advantage of the Irrigation Department's maintenance and repair work of Vasna Barrage gates till June 5.' Adding to this, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said, 'Generally, we do not get any specific occasion to clean the river but with the ongoing repair and maintenance work, we found an opportunity.' 'The cleaning process will also help us to know about the problems, for instance (we can find) the stretch where the garbage is highest… this in turn would help us to devise enforcement activities,' added Pani. This, however, will be assessed at the end of the cleaning exercise. After how many years The exercise is undertaken after six years. The last time Sabarmati River along the riverfront was cleaned was in 2019. However, the exercise at that time went on for four to five days and that didn't involve public participation on such a large scale, the Municipal Commissioner said. How much garbage cleaned Within two days, on May 15 and 16, a total of 118 metric tons of garbage was removed. A massive 76 tons was removed on the first day itself when the cleaning campaign was launched from the ghat behind Gandhi Ashram — the stretch between Dadhichi Bridge and Subhash Bridge — by Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain accompanied by Standing Committee Chairman Devang Dani, SRFDCL Chairman I P Gautam, Municipal Commissioner Pani along with MLAs, corporators and other officials of AMC-SRFDCL. At 21 metric tons, plastic constituted the largest portion of the huge garbage pile. Additionally, 12 metric tons of wood and 7 metric tons of cloth was also removed from the river bed which is a mix of soil in some stretches and stones in others. Remaining 78 metric tons constituted other materials, including glass and used puja material among other things. Nearly 15 heavy vehicles such as JCBs, trucks, tractors, and earth removers were used during two days of cleaning exercise to remove the garbage. Issues faced Sharing the issues faced during the exercise, the AMC officials revealed that the drainage system was not plugged majorly at two locations. 'Under Phase I, the Ranip drainage system meeting the Sabarmati Riverfront at Dandi Bridge was not plugged. In the ongoing phase 2, the drainage system at Dafnala was not plugged completely… much time was lost in getting the Army's permission as the stretch falls under the cantonment area. This led to a lot of garbage running into the river,' a senior AMC official said. Further, a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of 50-60 MLD is operational near Dandi Bridge and officials claim that the drainage system along the eastern bank is plugged too. Phase-2 involves extending the existing 11.5 kilometers of Riverfront East and West by 5.8 kms and 5.2 kms, respectively, up to the Indira bridge. Why public participation On the first day of the cleaning, a huge temple flag was seen being removed from the Sabarmati River. Looking at peoples' apathy towards the cleanliness of rivers, public participation was intentionally planned . 'People were roped in, so they can see for themselves what kind of waste is coming out of the river. Despite awareness campaigns people are throwing stuff like clothes and other material into it,' Municipal Commissioner Pani told The Indian Express. Pani informed at least 13000 persons from educational institutions, schools, colleges, universities, religious institutions, social institutions, NGOs and industrial groups will participated in the Sabarmati River Cleanliness Campaign on the first two days. As per the SRFDCL statement, on the first day over 8,998 persons participated in the campaign and 3,789 persons on the second public participation, the 11-km long bank of the Sabarmati Riverfront will be cleaned in phases. Also, in the public participation, individuals who frequently use the riverfront such as cyclists, morning walkers, jiggers among others are also being roped in for cleaning. Planning for cleaning AMC officials stated that in the initial phase, the civic body decided to take up the cleanliness drive of the river bed 'very carefully as the river bed dries up completely'. A field assessment of the bed was undertaken to also ensure safety of the citizens joining the like Anand Agricultural University and Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) were consulted to know the nature of the river before taking up the cleanliness drive, said the officials. The stench Owing to the drying up of the river, a strong stench emanated from the river which the officials said is a 'natural process'. 'The stench started on the first day. When you open up the water body because of the sunlight, whatever elements are present get decomposed. It always causes a stench. The process of decomposition is a natural process that causes some stench that is the reason here too. We had consulted scientifically on that aspect as well,' Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said.
Time of India
04-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SRFDCL's website hacked, language changed to Japanese
Image is used for representational purposes only AHMEDABAD: The official website of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDCL), operated by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, was possibly hacked. One of the signs being that the language of SRFDCL website's meta description — which is the short information on the website — on Google search results to Japanese. The meta description for SRFDCL website in Japanese depicts 'sale and discounts on beds' You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad 'It's possible that the website was hacked and the meta or short description for the website on Google was altered to Japanese. Right now, the meta description for SRFDCL website in Japanese depicts 'sale and discounts on beds'. We have informed our website developers and their technical teams have managed to redirect it to our parent web address and have since cleaned it up. However, Google might still be showing the old, compromised meta description in its search results until the next Google crawl and re-indexing of the site. Google's search crawlers take time to index changes made to a website,' said asenior AMC official. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Jawa Timur: AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Aroun... Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo AMC officials have been checking whether there was any attempt to redirect web traffic to malicious sites or to display unwanted content in search results. 'The hackers might not have fully taken over the site yet, or the malicious code might be designed to only affect the meta information displayed in search results,' the official said.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
GIFT City plot rights 38% pricier than those at riverfront
Ahmedabad: Development rights for plots in Gandhinagar's GIFT City are 38% costlier than for Ahmedabad's iconic Sabarmati Riverfront project . The Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd, managed by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, recently sold development rights for a commercial plot at Vallabhsadan on the riverfront for Rs 26,000 per sq m. In contrast, GIFT City last month issued a request for proposal (RFP) for selling development rights for two plots, with a base price for residential development rights set at over Rs 36,000 per sq m. The residential plot in GIFT City is priced at Rs 3,383 per sq ft. On Sep 13, 2024 SRFDCL issued an RFP to sell development rights for two plots on the riverfront. An auction was announced for a 4,420 sq m plot near Vallabh Sadan in the western part and another 3,045 sq m plot near Lemon Tree Hotel in the eastern part of the riverfront. The rights for the plot near Vallabh Sadan were set to sell for 60,050 sq m of construction, with a base price of Rs 23,676 per sq m. Two companies bid, with a Mumbai company acquiring the rights by the highest bid of Rs 26,000 per sq m. On Oct 28, 2024, SRFDCL approved a bid of Rs 156.13 crore for selling development rights for the plot near Vallabh Sadan. The base price for its development rights was evaluated according to the Sabarmati Riverfront Land Disposable Policy, bringing it to Rs 32,500 per sq m. Meanwhile, rights for the plot near Lemon Tree Hotel, on sale for 41,385 sq m of construction, had a base price of Rs 20,833 per sq m. However, the auction had to be cancelled with only one bid received. On Feb 7 this year, SRFDCL issued an RFP to develop Riverside Savouries on the riverfront for which a 27,000 sq m parcel opposite B J Park was identified, with plans to have a food zone over 6,300 sq m. Last month, GIFT City issued RFPs for selling development rights for plots in the Domestic Tariff Area, with plot 41A and 41B having a footprint of 3,129 sq m and development rights for 613,000 sq feet. Construction can reach up to 67.40m in height, with a base price of Rs 3,383 per sq foot, equivalent to approximately Rs 36,414 per sq m. The total base price for these development rights is set at Rs 207.37 crore. Additionally, GIFT City plans to sell development rights for a 1,244 sq m plot with a 41,000 sq m foot print and rights for 100,000 sq ft, also priced at Rs 3,383 per sq ft. The base price per square metre for these plots exceeds that of a sold plot's development rights on the Sabarmati Riverfront.
Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Who is IP Gautam, the retired IAS officer appointed to oversee the Gandhi Ashram development project
The Gujarat government has replaced retired IAS officer K Kailashnathan with IP Gautam, another retired IAS officer, in the governing and executive councils for the Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development project. Having vast experience in urban development and planning, Gautam is known as a tough taskmaster who enjoys the confidence of the current administrative dispensation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A 1986-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, Gautam is already Chairman of Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL), a position he is poised to hold until 2027. Before that, he was a member of the Lokpal of India in Delhi for over four years. Gautam has performed duties as the Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner between 2006 and 2011. Later, he was also appointed as Principal Secretary of the Urban Development department. He was also the managing director of the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation from 2013 to 2019 in Gujarat. He possesses experience of more than 40 years in the fields of financial management, public policy and administration, power sector management, urban governance, and more. His expertise lies in project management, techno-legal expertise, and managing large infrastructure projects. A senior official associated with the Gandhi Ashram redevelopment project said, 'Gautam has worked extensively on urban issues. He was already a municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad for over five years and is now chairman of SRFDCL. So, he knows the issues of the city very well.' 'This project, though it lies in the city, has its own challenges. But Gautam is a tough taskmaster and is known for getting things done. Also, the Gandhi Ashram redevelopment project's major planning is already done and what remains is its execution in a timely manner. But Gautam has vast experience and can get things done in that timely manner,' the official added. An observer of the Gujarat bureaucracy said, 'Kailashnathan is loyal to the current dispensation, so is Gautam. Since Kailashnathan is already Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Kailashnathan must have been inclined to be relieved from the duties of the project in Ahmedabad. And so, the authorities have replaced him with Gautam, another loyal official.'
