Surat, India: Ecological Sequestration Trust, a UK-based charity, selected the diamond city of India, Surat, as one of the three cities in the world for a demonstration project for ‘eco city’ development. The Trust will spend approximately INR 50 crore over a period of five years to build a sustainable development model that will be more environment-friendly. It will work along with its local partner South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The funds will be used in setting up a pilot project of green buildings with reduced heat and minimised water use, an intelligent transport system, a system to periodically forecast traffic and weather at different spots on cellphones through GPS, road mapping to suggest better routes for travel by own vehicles, setting up prototypes of recycling of used water and setting up efficient transport system that reduces road requirements by half.
Peter Head, head of the Trust said, “Surat can be the next Singapore in terms of ecology and water management systems.”
The Trust which has joined hands with a leading consultancy firm TARU will start the planning for creation of ecologically sustainable mega city by July 1, 2012, after working out contractual agreements with local climate change trust and the city advisory board.
The prototype of ‘eco-city’ focuses on three core sectors – water, energy and food security. These will be worked upon by integrating land use plan with issues of water supply, sanitation, sewerage and transportation in the master plan scheduled to be out by 2013.
The target is to see that at least 75 percent population switches on to public transport in five years.
The Trust will set up eco-social cartography centre and chalk out land availability and business plan for the Surat Municipal Corporation in such way that it gets quality data for developing the model.
Surat Urban Development Authority’s (SUDA) senior town planner SK Datta said, “The integration of sanitation, sewerage and other amenities along with land use in the master plan 2013 will change the face of Surat city dramatically.”
SMC has set a target of reducing its carbon emission from 3.71 tonne per capita by 35 percent in three years.
Source: Times of India
