sabarmati-riverfront-brochure

SabarmatiRiverfrontSabarmatiRiverfront....Socializing a River& Inclusive DevelopmentRiver Sabarmati, the lifeline ofAhmedabad, gained global recognitionwhen Mahatma Gandhi set up his ashramon its bank in 1917, lived there for morethan a decade and, in 1930 led from itsbank the famous Dandi March that rousedthe entire nation. Almost after a century,it is again in the news, all over the world.Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’spet project ‘Sabarmati Riverfront Project’has made waves at international level.KPMG, one of the world’s topadvisory firms has included Ahmedabad’sSabarmati Riverfront DevelopmentProject in the list of ‘100 Most InnovativeProjects’ in the field of urban regeneration(2012) that make cities livable as wellas sustainable. Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation (AMC) received HUDCONational Award 2012 for innovativeinfrastructure development for theRiverfront Project.This project also bagged thePrime Minister award for the best conceptand design of a public project. In 2006,the Sabarmati Riverfront Project had alsowon the National Safety Council of India,Safety Award.Though the project has wonseveral awards on different fronts, themost significant USP about this landmarkproject has not been highlighted enough.This project is unique because it trulysocialized a river, a historic river, whichthrough decades of neglect and decay,had become a pathetic caricature of ariver. The project dealt with sensitiveissues like slum rehabilitation, relocationof an age old natural market and a DhobiGhat with élan. This project by its inclusivenature has benefited the people from thelowest strata of society. This project hasconnected the river and people, againdirectly through its ghats.The Sabarmati RiverfrontDevelopment Project was conceived andis being implemented as a pioneeringmulti-purpose project with significanturban transformation potential. A SpecialPurpose Vehicle called the SabarmatiRiverfront Development Corporation Ltd.(SRFDCL) was formed for implementationof the project. The SPV model was beingused to avoid the delays associated withmunicipal decision making, introduceease in raising resources, and givesimplementation efforts a definitive thrustand focus.2 3