Urban Land-Saving for Future Or Selling the Future?

Urban Land- A Commodity?

First the humanity must learn to acknowledge that a system of natural ecological infrastructure exists everywhere, that it functions with or without our presence, and that when we interfere with its functions, the resulting effects are cataclysmic-- despite our attempts to reconstruct, duplicate or mend it. Therefore, it is in our best long- term interests to keep as much of this natural infrastructure as healthy and as intact as possible.

Second, and perhaps the most important lesson to be learnt is that we did not fully realize, the powerful influence that sensible Urban-Land use planning has on the quality of our natural environment. As a result the urban land is simply regarded as a commodity and not part of larger continuum, intimately linked to the surrounding air, water, vegetation & life, inflicting environmental damage.

Impact of Unchecked Urbanization

The urbanization has long been seen as a necessary step, in economic development and cities have been referred to, as engines of development, that fuel economic progress. The well planned and managed cities of compact size, offer economy and efficiencies in the use of energy, water, and land for a large number of people in a limited area. But the cities are also increasingly being seen as the prime machines that pollute and degrade the environment, because of overcrowding. As cities grow beyond the sustainable limit, their adverse impact on health and the quality of life gets multiplied many fold.

Mega Cities Vs Smaller Cities

Therefore the Mega-Cities jeopardize the very hope for better living and quality of life for which the city dweller aspires. The concept of Mega Cities is a high-risk solution, with high-risk population, the combination of which spells danger. Smaller Cities or towns dispersed all over will provide lasting and cost effective solution for sustainable urban development. The well-thought out Land-Use planning, Environmental Regulation and Demand Side Management (DSM) measures can completely offset, concrete and steel solutions, saving thousands of crores of rupees and ensuring sustainable urban development

DSM Vs SSM Measures

The urban planners and the governments are driven to expand infrastructure and to create new facilities to meet ever increasing inadequacies and shortages created by growing urban population. The cumulative effect of this vicious pattern of "Supply Side Management" (SSM) has created financial obstacles and crisis. These hurdles are compounded by overuse and degradation of urban land, depletion and pollution of Water Bodies etc The administration is always overtaken by the events, which are being chased as part of crisis management. It calls for a paradigm shift in planning- from Supply Side Management to Demand Side Management, from Control measures to Precautionary measures, from Capital Investment to Innovative Cost effective solutions

Urban Master Plans

The Urban Master Plans are to ensure planned, balanced and sustainable development of the notified Urban Areas..The land uses normally proposed in the Master Plans, are Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Institutional (Schools, Hospitals, Public Bldgs. Utilities etc), Transport (Roads etc), Recreation (Parks, Playgrounds etc), Reserved Forests, Water Bodies, Conservation etc areas.

The Hillocks, Valleys, Lake shores and River Banks are normally earmarked as Recreation Zones, prohibiting development activity involving any material change in the land use. Therefore the commercial recreation activities such as Amusement Parks and others requiring structures should not be permitted in notified recreation areas such as Parks, Playgrounds, Water -fronts etc.

The Violation of the provisions of Master Plan or the regulations that accompany it, are like the violation of any other law. But the violations of Master Plan and Building Regulations, which can be compared with the Indian Penal Code, are not being dealt accordingly.

Govt. is the Main Culprit

The glaring aspect is that large chunks of recreational/conservation areas are being converted into residential/ commercial uses and being auctioned by Urban Development Authorities themselves, to mobilize funds for fancy projects like fly-overs, ring roads, necklace-road etc

The State Govt is also resorting to allotment of large chunks of Govt land, covered under reserved forests, water fronts etc to various private parties, camouflaged by fancy names such as Botanical Garden, Night Safari, IMAX Theater etc in the name of promotion of tourism, unilaterally modifying the land use notified in Master Plans.

As a result the Master Plans have become superficial as they are frequently modified to suit individual requirements and irrational Govt policies and decisions, with utter disregard to sustainable development and long term adverse environmental impacts. Most of the disaster causalities in India are reported to be a consequence of shoddy planning and non implementation of Land-Use plans.

AP Urban Scenario by 2020

As per 2001 Census, Andhra Pradesh recorded a total population of 7.57 crores with an urban population of 2.05 crores. Unlike some other States where several large cities and towns are spread all over the State, Andhra Pradesh has a distinction of Hyderabad Metropolitan Area (HMA) accounting for nearly one-third of the State's urban population, followed by Visakhapatnam (VMA) and other cities &towns that are much smaller.

By 2020, AP urban population is expected to be 50% of the total population. As a result the requirement of urban land for residential, commercial, institutional, transport etc uses gets more than doubled, reducing or converting more than 50 percent of the existing conservation areas. This phenomenal growth is going to be at the root of most problems of Urban Agglomerations.

At present, lured by bright lights, fly-overs, employment opportunities and other fancy projects concentrated in HMA and VMA or driven from the country side by political and economic turmoil, lack of basic necessities, neglect of rural areas etc, lakhs of people have been migrating. Therefore, there is an urgent need to curtail urban population growth rate, particularly in HMA &VMA, by arresting and reversing the migration of rural population, through intensive and all round development of the District towns and Mandal headquarters in the State,

Let Us, not SELL and SAVE HMA & VMA for Future Generations

The district towns will have to be developed, by an integrated urban development planning, as counter magnets, and not by development of HMA or VMA in isolation. This will have to be targeted through an integrated approach, by dispersal of administrative machinery, by providing basic civic amenities and by improving connectivity by reliable transport and communication networks. This will serve the dual purpose of developing the district towns bridging the gap between urban and rural divide and easing the pressure on major urban centers like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

Otherwise, the "Common Good" with a view to achieving urban areas that are safe, efficient, sustainable, clean, and economically vibrant and take care of the needs of all sections of the society, will remain a pipe dream. The important aspect to remember is that HMA & VMA alone is not Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad endowed with heritage and nature, Visakhapatnam blessed with deep blue of the Bay of Bengal, aesthetic eco-systems of Eastern Ghats will have to be saved for the future by Proper Land use Planning and management and not by treating it as a Commodity , which amounts selling their future.