3 Consultants Hired For Ahmedabad’s Development Plan

State govt appoints 3 consultants to develop Ahmedabad's plan till 2041, integrating Olympic Games bid. Auda leads the project focusing on livability, sustainability, resilience, transportation, energy, urban amenities, citizen services, and education.

Gandhinagar: State govt has appointed three consultants to prepare a development plan (DP) for Ahmedabad for up to 2041 which will include all aspects of the city’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) has been named the anchor agency and the agencies have been mandated with preparing the DP in six months, top govt sources said.
 

The three consultants engaged are HCP; Arup India Pvt Ltd, a UK-based company; and Gehl Architects, a Denmark-based company. “The consultants have been mandated to look at the broad aspects of livability, sustainability and resilience while preparing the development plan for Ahmedabad city. Proposed infrastructure and amenities being put in place for the Olympic bid will also feature in the DP,” top officials in govt said.

The scope of work will include sectors such as transportation, energy, environment, green infrastructure, blue infrastructure, regional and local economy, beautification, physical and social infrastructure, health and others.

Under the livability head, consultants will need to examine parameters for the urban environment, public and community spaces, urban amenities, citizen services, health, education and the like.

The consultants will need to finalize assessment parameters with Auda, especially those that directly align with the DP. Under the resilience head, the agencies will have to analyze and classify climatic risks to the city and vulnerabilities from past trends and projections.

The agencies will also need to map vulnerable areas and communities. The risks to be considered are urban flooding, heatwaves, earthquakes, wind and the like. The consultants will have to design a framework for climate-resilient development.

Regarding sustainability, the agencies will need to assess parameters in consultation with Auda, and this will include compiling existing conditions including the blue and green infrastructure, environment sensitive and protected areas, natural drainage areas and flooding areas. An action plan for sustainable city development will be part of the scope of work.

Source- TOI