Ahmedabad: In an effort to bring about coordination in developing the peripheral areas of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, Gujarat government on Wednesday made Mamta Verma, an IAS bureaucrat of the 1996 batch, chief executive officer of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) and Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority (GUDA).

After many years AUDA and GUDA will have one CEO in Mamta Verma, who would be responsible for regulating development activities in the 1,452 sq km area. Verma, a member of Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM) had recently gone to New Delhi for seeking approvals for JNNURM projects.

Verma, who already held charge of GUDA, takes over as AUDA chief at a time when as many as 73 MoUs have been inked in the area of urban development in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad regions at the just-concluded Vibrant Gujarat summit. Several large township projects, hotels and educational cities are proposed in the two regions — not to forget the ambitious GIFT city and Sabarmati riverfront projects extending up to the state capital.

While AUDA controls an area of 1,295 sq km, GUDA controls a total area of 157 sq km which also includes 39 villages surrounding it.

In the light of planned development along the Gadhinagar-Ahmedabad-Vadodara corridor and its links with the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) as well as the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) corridor, the issue of providing connectivity amongst various urban centres in Ahmedabad Metropolitan Region (AMR) has gained significance.

According to Ahmedabad Metropolitan Region (AMR) blueprint, which covers over 10,000 sq km, a special emphasis is being laid for the next growth centres like Kalol, Gandhinagar, Dehgam, Kathlal, Mehemdabad, Kheda, Dholka, Bavla and Sanand — the corridor falls under the DMIC influence region. Apart from the existing SP Ring Road, a second circular road is being conceptualised passing through Gandhinagar, Kadi, Kheda and Sanand.

“Gandhinagar is no longer independent of Ahmedabad. In the coming few years, one will see the significant urban growth of Ahmedabad spilling over to Gandhinagar. We are talking of a metropolitan region and a single authority that plans a common strategy for infrastructure development in both cities and the rest of the region envisaged under AMR. With a common head for both GUDA and AUDA, there could be a collaborative planning effort,” said CEPT university professor Utpal Sharma.

Source: timesofindia