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Waterfront Development: A Case Study of

Sabarmati Riverfront

Conference Paper · March 2017

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 Waterfront Development: A Case Study of
Sabarmati Riverfront
Dipali Babubhai Paneria
PG Student, M. E. Town and Country Planning,
Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat, Gujarat
dipali.paneria.tcp@gmail.com
+91-7874216069

Vishwa D. Mehta
Adhoc Assistant Professor,
Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat, Gujarat
vishwa.mehta@scet.ac.in
+91-9510606894

Bhasker Vijaykumar Bhatt

P. G. in charge (ME-TCP) & Assistant Professor,
Faculty of Civil Engineering,
Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat, Gujarat
bhasker.bhatt@scet.ac.in
+91-9825835364

ABSTRACT

The water has a potential to make cities as a cultural and heritage hub. Every tourist that came
to the city will pass the river, so by developing the river in a beautiful way that attracts the more
people to visit the place and that increase the revenue. In this paper, the case study Sabarmati
riverfront at Ahmedabad is discussed. The main concern is to decrease the river pollution,
protection from flood and increase the tourism. The development of the river bank has the area
of 202 ha. that cover the area from cantonment area to vasna barrage.
KEY WORDS: Waterfront; River; Ahmedabad; • Natural waterfront- encompass beaches,
Tourism development. wetlands, wildlife habitats, sensitive ecosystems
and water itself
INTRODUCTION • Public waterfront- concluding parks,
esplanades, piers, street ends, vistas and
Waterfront is a place where urban development and
waterways that offer public open space and
water interact, and defined as a unique and
waterfront view.
irreplaceable resource where land, water, air, sun and
• Working waterfront- where water dependent,
productive plants interface with each other. It is also
maritime and industrial uses cluster or where
defined as a place of integrating land with water and
various transportation and municipal facilities
also having a characteristic of natural attraction to
are dispersed.
people. Any development takes place in fronts of
water or water body like river, lake, ocean, bay, creek • Redeveloping waterfronts- Where land uses
or canal is term as a waterfront development. have recently changed or where vacant and
underutilized properties suggest potential for
In the present scenario, the waterfront development is beneficial change.
a global trend. Nowadays, thousand of schemes for
water development are being carried out in all over The waterfront can also be classify based on the
the world. The principal function of waterfront can be source of water in the city as Riverfront, Lakefront,
classified as below: and Seafront.

Need for Waterfront Development

NHCE 2017 Dipali Paneria 1

Due to increase in urbanization and industrialization, many CASE STUDY: SABARMATI RIVERFRONT
cities/towns faces minimum avenues for recreation and DEVELOPMENT
open spaces. A developed waterfront provides access to
new recreation opportunities and awareness of natural KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler), one of
aspects of river life to residents. This utility will attract
world's top advisory firms has included Sabarmati
exceptional new high standard investments, and motivate
people to approach water that was once lost during the Riverfront Development Project in '100 most
century of industrialization. Most importantly, a central and Innovative Projects' in the field of urban regeneration
vibrant waterfront perform services to resident and visitors (2012) that make cities livable as well as sustainable.
in shared adventures of the city. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) received
HUDCO National Award 2012 for innovative
General Principal of Waterfront Development infrastructure development for the riverfront project.
The project consists both banks of the Sabarmati for a
• Linear development of waterfront interconnected 10.5 km stretch, creating approximately 202
with broad public access hectares of reclaimed land. There is a water
➢ As a daily consumer path and recreational management system for minimizing flooding and
amenity, the use of riverfront greenway is clean up the river with new sewage treatment
encouraged. infrastructure.
➢ Illustrating the connection between access,
greenway development, and market demand. The Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation
➢ Creating a logical and visually pleasing Limited (SRFDCL) is established in 1997 for the
order to the water's edge. development of the riverfront in the city. (1)
• Protection and improvement of the natural SRFDCL reached out to a number of NGOs and
riverfront environment citizen groups for planning and implementation. The
➢ To preserve environmentally diverse the process of implementation was done by build,
ecological state of the waterfront is maintain, operate and transfer. SRFDCL appointed
documented. Independent Third Parties to supervise the private
➢ To prevent and eliminate inappropriate use sector contractors who were selected on fixed time
from river's edge. and rate. The fund for the project is set out by
➢ To protect existing natural areas from different sources that are equity capital, loan fund and
development. proceeds from land sales.
• Retrieve the identity of city as one of the most
preferable water cities Riverfront Land Use
➢ Raising public expectation of what the city's
waterfront offers. The proposed development is of mix land use that
➢ Attracting people, investors and best aspect includes commercial, recreational and residential
of urban living to the waterfront. developments within the both side of river bank from
Gandhi Bridge to Sardar Bridge.
Table 1 Land use of Sabarmati riverfront
Sr. No. Sanctioned Land Use Area Sq. m. Area Ha. %
1 Road 4,44,378 44 22
2. Garden 2,74,585 27 14
3. Open space 3,71,198 37 18
4. Public purpose 2,88,875 29 14
5. Lower Promenade 2,66,462 27 13
6. Multi use for sale 2,94,083 29 14
7. Sports 72,503 7 4
8. Residual ( Utilities, Residential, 15,787 2 1
Commercial, General, Education)
Total 20,27,871 202.8
(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

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Fig. 1 Land use map
(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)
Development in Different Sector Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers

The major component of the project concludes There were around 12000 hutments on both side of
embankment and reclamation works, construction of river bank that cover nearly 20% of the critical
road and installation of infrastructures such as water, project area. More than 10000 families are allotted
sewer network, storm water drainage, etc., with houses for resettlement, and 9078 odd families
resettlement and rehabilitation work, construction of have already been shifted. Each house is of 26.77 sq
promenades and garden and maintenance of public m carpet area. Commonly the relocation of a slum is
spaces. provided on the outskirt of the city, but in this case, it
is located near to the prime location of the city.

Fig. 2 Development of slum dwellers

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Gujari Bazar - Sunday Market It is an age-old Sunday market, where 40% of traders
were women and half of them describe themselves as
Dalits. It was unhygienic and also there is a risk of

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flood in monsoon. Now, it is spread over 70.00 sq.mt pucca platforms and 783 laris.
area, and 1600 vendors can do their business on 788

Fig. 3 Development of Gujari bazar

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Dhobi Ghat ghat spread over approx. 9400 sq.mt area has utility
area of about 600 sq.mt. There are seven blocks in
Around 172 Dhobis were using both the bank of the modern Dhobi Ghat, and each block has 24 units with
river for washing activities. On the eastern bank of well-developed water supply and drainage system
the river near Vasna Barrage is constructed as dhobi with a water meter for inlet watering.

Fig. 4 Development of dhobi ghat

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Event Area ground facilities. So that an area of 60.00 aq.mt,

spread between Sardar Bridge and Ellis Bridge on the
Earlier the dry river bed was used to host events like west bank has been designed for hosting events such
circus and cricket etc. However, a mega city like as the Kite Festival, the Marathon, the Cyclothon and
Ahmedabad requires a proper event management Garib Kalyan Mela are organized.

Fig. 5 Development of event area

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Urban Forestry Between Vasna Barrage and Ambedkar Bridge, the

unique afforestation project is situated over 1 lakh

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sq.mt area. The natural forestry is being developed certain very rare species.
with different plant species from Gujarat, including

Fig. 6 Development of urban forestry

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Sewage System the water dirty, mosquito ridden and unhealthy

environment. Now, there is an extreme change in the
To intercept the sewer running into the river and environment around the river because all sewage
divert it to the treatment plants, the interceptor sewer goes to a pumping station for transformation it to
system was constructed. Earlier the sewage from 36 river quality.
drainage points directly falls into the river that makes

Fig. 7 Development of sewage system

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Promenade above the water level for pedestrian and cyclists. So

there will be no private ownership of river bank, and
A key feature of this project is a two-level, the whole stretch is open for every citizen.
continuous walk on both sides of river bank built just

Fig. 8 Development of promenade

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

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Public Garden/ Flower Garden • Garden of 25000 sq.mt at Usmanpura
For parks and garden space 27% of project land is between Gandhi Bridge and Nehru Bridge
developed. There are three gardens. on West bank and
• Flower garden of 40000 sq.mt near event
• Garden of 60000 sq.mt between Subhash area on west bank of the river.
Bridge and Dadhichi Bridge;

Fig. 9 Development of gardens

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Water Recreation available on both side of the river bank in different

places. For the future plan, there will be a zip line,
Various water sports are provided in the project on Amphibian bus, Sabarmati Darshan through ferry and
both sides of the river bank. Boating facilities are adventure water sports.

Fig. 10 Development of water recreation

(Source- http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com)

Project Benefits and Impacts • Rehabilitation of resettlement of 10000 slum

dwellers in great pukka houses.
• Now it is possible to retain surface water in • Traditional users of a river like washer men
the river all year around. and unorganized vendors are now provided
• The ground strata are recharged with storage with organized facilities.
of 12.5 million cubic meter river water. • Easy access to the river water through
• More than 250 MLD sewage is diverted Ghats, Stairs/ Ramps.
from the river and pollution is eliminated.
• The river is protected from the scour and CONCLUDING REMARK
stopped the erosion of the river banks with The abused river can be brought back to the city by
Diaphragm walls. utilizing the resources of the river itself and convert
• 202 ha. land is available by retaining wall on the abandoned land of riverbed and nuisances at the
both sides for further development for the centre of the city into people's attraction, tourist
city and flood protection. attraction, creation of infrastructural and recreational
• The embankments provided with wide facilities and transform the city more livable in terms
walkways, green space with tree plantation of environmental improvement and inclusive
and many other facilities. development.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Sabarmati River Front Development corporation
& AMC. Sabarmati Riverfront. Ahmedabad : s.n.
The authors thankfully acknowledged to Prof.
Bhasker Bhatt, Assistant Professor, Sarvajanik Infrastructure Development Corporation
College of Engineering and Technology, Prof. (Karnataka) Limited. Pre-feasibility Study for
Vishwa Mehta, Adhoc Assistant Lecturer, Sarvajanik Water front Development in Karnataka. Bang lore :
College of Engineering and Technology, Surat, s.n., 2009.
Gujarat, India for their motivations and
infrastructural support to carry out this research. SABARMATI RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT.
REFERENCES
SABARMATI RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
A.R.Alagarsamy. Riverfront Development – PROJECT. Jagdish, Mr. Ahmedabad : s.n. SRFD
Kanakapura. Ahmedabad : s.n., june 2012. project for urban mobility. p. 66.

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