Pradip Dav, Rajkot Mayor, announced Monday that the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), has granted environmental clearance (EC), for the proposed Aji riverfront project. He also said that work on the first phase will begin soon.
The EC was granted on February 17 after a meeting. According to Dav, we have received a copy the EC. He added that this allows us to begin actual work on the project.
Confirming the development, Rajkot municipal commissioner Amit Arora said, a copy of the EC was “sent on WhatsApp”.
The EC marks a significant milestone in the megainfrastructure plan that Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), proposed in 2013. RMC’s initial attempt to get the clearance had proved abortive as it did not own the river stretch proposed to be developed. After the state transferred the 11-km-long river stretch to RMC in 2018, progress was made and the civic body applied for EC again.
Following this, the State Expert Appraisal Committee had established terms of reference to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA). RMC had submitted an EIA. SEAC, on December 12, 2021, had recommended SEIAA that it grant EC for the Rs 1,181 crore project.
SEIAA/SEAC are state-level bodies constituted under the Central government. They have the authority to grant EC requests for major infrastructure projects. We will be able to float civil work tenders now that we have EC. The project will be executed in phases. The mayor stated that we plan to build a 1.25-kilometre-long stretch from Champakbhai Vora Bridge, near Ramnath temple, to downstream Kesr-e-Hind Bridge in the first phase.
Dav said that the first phase will cost Rs 165 crore. He expressed hope that the state would provide the funds. As part of this project, we propose to redevelop Ramnath Mahadev’s temple and also develop parking lots, gardens, and retaining wall. About 15 days ago, I presented to Chief Minister Bhupendra Pantel. He was very positive. The RMC budget 2022-22-23 has set aside Rs 10 million for Ramnath temple construction. However, the riverfront project can only be realized if the state provides financial support. Mayor said that we are hopeful that the state will provide the funds.
The riverfront is planned to be developed from Aji bridge on NH-27 downstream Aji Dam at the south-eastern end of the city to Aji bridge of 150 Feet Ring Road, also known as Morbi Bypass Road, in the northeastern.
However, there could be more than 4,000 unauthorised dwelling units on the bank of this stretch. Furthermore, work on laying sewer interceptors along the eastern or western banks of this river is still not complete.
A sewer arrester line was laid on the eastern bank. It covers almost 70% of the project area, including the railway bridge at Kesar-e-Hind bridge. The rest of the work remains pending because the area is becoming too invasive. A source said that the west bank is still in limbo, as the contractor who was awarded the tender was black-listed.
Paresh Adhia, RMC’s city engineer looking into the riverfront development project, said EC will give the much-needed momentum for the project. We will start encroachment elimination and then proceed to laying sewer arrester cables. Adhia stated that both the work and construction can be done simultaneously. HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Limited, which is based in Ahmedabad, will now prepare the final masterplan.