Gandhinagar is located 23 km north of Ahemdabad planned in 1960s by Prakash M Apte and H. K. Mewada. Gandhinagar district is an administrative division of Gujarat, India, whose headquarters are at Gandhinagar, the state capital. It was organized in 1964. Gandhinagar is located in central Gujarat, Vadodra and Ahemdabad are located in the north. It is a planned city situated on the Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar is the commercial heart of Gujarat and western India. Gandhinagar is being developed as infocity. It has an area of 649 km², and a population of 13,34,455.
Streets
Gandhinagar's streets are numbered (eg. Road no. 1, Road no. 2 up to Road no. 7). All streets are aligned at 30 deg. N-W and 60 deg. N-E, to avoid direct glare of morning and evening sun while driving. The Gujarat assembly building is in the centre of the city to make it close to all the residents
Character of the City
Infocity, Gandhinagar has many educational institutions like Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of ICT (Information and Communication Technology), EDI (Entrepreneurship Development Institute Of India), Indian Plasma Research Institute, and Gujarat Law University. Gandhinagar's Education level is highest in Gujarat, 87.11% all over the Gujarat.
Sectors
Gandhinagar has 30 sectors which are of 1 x 0.75 km each in length and width. Each sector has a primary school, a secondary school, a higher secondary school, a medical dispensary, a shopping centre and a maintenance office. Gandhinagar is developed on the neighborhood concept.
Departments Working in Gandhinagar
1) Roads and Building Department
The Town planning section of this office deals only with the town planning for Gandhinagar city and the peripheral area of the city. The office deals with following activities.
- Preparing master plan of the city and areas outside
- Preparing layout of major roads and rail lines in the region
- Preparing layouts for residential area
- Preparing layouts for commercial areas
- Preparing layout for industrial areas
- Preparing layouts for special buildings such as capital complex, town hall and other public buildings
- Preparing layouts landscaping of public buildings, parks and other public areas
- Guidance in policy regarding allotment of land
- Guidance for size of plot and land price in allotment of land
- Suggesting plots for auction for various uses along with base price
- Preparing of building bylaws for the city and the peripheral areas
- Suggesting changes in the bylaws from time to time
- Permission for construction and completion of buildings as per the bye-laws
- Technical approval under the periphery control act 1960 for change of use (Section-11) as well as to start construction under section 5/6 of the above act.
2) GUDA (Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority)
This authority is the one that drafts all the town planning schemes and implements them. It was started on 12-03-1996 by Govt. of Gujarat. The prime objective of the GUDA's formation was to carry out the sustained planned development of the area failing outside the periphery of Gandhinagar notified area. With a view to ensure well planned development of Gandhinagar capital city and 39 villages and measuring area of 388 km2 . The important functions of the authority include
- The preparation of development plan for the Gandhinagar urban agglomeration
- To prepare the draft town planning schemes
- To implement the revised town planning schemes and
- To monitor and control the development activities in accordance with the revised development plan
- Besides, it is also responsible for the development of the infrastructures like road, sewerage, water supply and other basic civic amenities
Planned as the administrative capital of the state, the current and future population employed in state government offices was distributed in 30 residential sectors around the State Assembly secretariat complex. Each residential sector could accommodate about 50% of population, and was intended to house the half of the population employed by the government. Plots on the periphery of each sector are meant for private and supporting population that constitutes the remaining 50%. The city was planned for a population of 150,000 but can accommodate double that population with increase in the floor space ratio from 1 to 2 in the areas reserved for private development. The river being the border on the east, and the industrial area to the North, the most logical future physical expansion of the city was envisaged towards the north-west.
To establish and maintain a separate identity for the new city, the surrounding area of about 39 villages was brought under a Periphery Control Act (as in Chandigarh) that permitted new development of farm houses only. The area later constituted a separate administrative district of Gandhinagar. The city was planned for a population of 150,000 but can accommodate double that population with increase in the floor space ratio from 1 to 2 in the areas reserved for private development. The river being the border on the east, and the industrial area to the north, the most logical future physical expansion of the city was envisaged towards the north- west.
Due to a constant military confrontation with Pakistan, whose borders are close from the city, a large military presence was required here. The land acquired on the eastern bank, adjacent to National Highway No.8, was therefore allotted to the Border Security Force and military cantonment. Considering the mostly south-west to north-east wind direction, the land to the north of the city was allotted for the then biggest thermal power station and the adjacent areas were zoned for industrial use. This area was distanced from the township by a 2000 ft. wide green strip of thick vegetation.
Gandhinagar Master Plan
FSI (Floor Space Index)
Residential
Ahmedabad is currently the real estate hotspot in Gujarat, followed by Surat and Vadodara. The FSI fixed by the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in R-2 zones (city outskirts) is 1.2 and in R-1 zone, it is 1.8, allowing uniform free FSI of 1.8, barring the state capital of Gandhinagar.
Commercial
Earlier 2.8 now allowing up to 4 FSI. Under the ‘ease of doing business’ housing and slum redevelopment, under which it will give over 3.0 FSI
Area of Sector
75.70 hectare Ground coverage, 13.08 hectare (16.65%) Open Area, 59.28 hectare (78.30%) Roads, Primary Area 9.82 hectare and Secondary Area: 3.12 hectare.
Linkages And Connectivity
National highway (NH) 8 and 8C runs through the district connecting it with major cities (20 km from city), connected with Ahmedabad by the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway (28 km) and with Vadodara by the Ahmedabad, Vadodara expressway (139 km). Distance from major industrial centres in the state: Rajkot (249 km), Jamnagar (337 km), Valsad (373 km), Ankleshwar (223 km), Bhavnagar (228 km), Mehsana (68 km) and Surat (306 km). Distance from major cities in India: Mumbai (573 km), Delhi (943 km), Kolkata (1952 km) and Chennai (1854 km).
Consciously designed and planned axially based on egalitarian and Gandhian ethos. The re planning of Gandhinagar by the Consultants of Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority (GUDA) has obliterated its identity as a capital city. Unbridled capitalism has led to its debasement and inorganic extension resulting in Gandhinagar becoming just another suburb of Ahmedabad.
The New Plan (2002)
The consultants recently appointed by GUDA have ignored that history and want the expansion of the city to take place to the south. A southward expansion proposed by the consultants will merge it with Ahmedabad and finally become its suburb, destroying its separate identity. This extension to the south has completely destroyed the plan's most important concept, the central vista (Road No.4). It focuses on the capitol complex, and was naturally to be extended to the north-west maintaining the axis, expanding the city physically in that direction. Over 6000 acres of green cover to the south west of the city has been designated for residential use in an attempt to join with the city of Ahmedabad. All this land, when developed can accommodate a population of over 600,000. The consultants thus seek to destroy the identity of the new capital city and make it a suburb of Ahmedabad. The "Gamthan" (built up land in a village) areas of 7 villages just abutting the city limits of Gandhinagar are increased arbitrarily (much beyond their natural growth requirements) to allow private residential development.
Dismantling of Important Urban Design Features
A major Area for cultural facilities, in the city square in Sector 17 of the city centre is proposed to be converted to commercial use, killing Gujarat's traditional concept of a 'city square' and destroying a major element of 'urban design' of the new capital city. An area along J road (along the river Sabarmati) across Sector 9 covered by ravines, was proposed for conservation as an adventure park. It is now designated by the consultants for residential taking away a unique recreational facility. The open spaces at the junctions of all main roads of the city, left open in the original plan to improve road geometrics in future, ornamental landscaping, road signage, guide maps etc. are proposed to be filled up with roadside petty shops and hutments for the immigrants giving the city a slum like look.
Gandhinagar Master Plan 2026
Gandhi Nagar Master Plan 2026 provides the framework for rationalizing the orderly movement of traffic and transportation within the city and defines the area for laying down network of various services. The plan is used for promoting integrated development of the urban centre by rationalizing its pattern of land use and their interrelationship. It also defines the strategies and solutions for overcoming the existing problems of the urban centres and to overcome its infrastructural and service related inadequacies. In addition, it provides options for accommodating the future addition to population which is likely to come to the urban centre due to natural growth and migration. Master Plan acts as a tool for determining the infrastructural cost which would be required to make the city sustainable. The plans offer futuristic solutions by laying down agenda for its growth and development.
New Schemes in Gandhinagar
Metro between Gandhinagar and Ahemdabad. GIFT city : It's full form is "Gujarat International Finance Tec-City". This place is 12 km from the Ahmedabad International Airport and 8 km from Gandhinagar. It is a Global Financial Hub. To develop and implement the project, Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDCOL) and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) have established a Joint Venture Company, "Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited" (GIFTCL). The estimated cost of the entire project is Rs. 70,000 crore (700 billion Rs). Its main purpose is to provide high quality physical infrastructure (electricity, water, gas, district cooling, roads, telecoms and broadband), so that finance and tech firms can relocate their operations there from Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon etc.
