Extracts for Report of Sustainable Regional Planning Framework for Puducherry, Villupuram, Auroville & Cuddalore (PondyCan, Feb. 2012)

The Puducherry – Viluppuram – Auroville – Cuddalore (PVAC) Sustainable Regional Planning Framework is an initiative to establish an integrated inter-state growth strategy for Puducherry and its neighbouring districts in the state of Tamil Nadu – Viluppuram and Cuddalore. The preliminary analysis and recommendations are organized within four key themes – Land Use, Transportation, Water, and Energy. Other themes will be addressed as part of ongoing efforts at various local, sub-regional, district or regional levels as funding opportunities arise in the future.

Key challenges in the bioregion

Land

While Puducherry suffers a tremendous strain on its urban infrastructure and quality of life because of uncontrolled and unplanned expansion and excessive development cramped into a limited land area, the immediate vicinity in both Cuddalore and Viluppuram districts have vast tracts of land languishing from paucity of investment. Other critical concerns related to land use include: unplanned sprawling growth, lack of enforcement, loss in agricultural land, and minimal forest cover and recreation areas.

Mobility

The region is characterized by limited sustainable transportation choices that provide connectivity between the urban centres, towns, and rural areas. Traffic congestion, lack of dedicated pedestrian/ bicycle facilities, safety, poor quality bus service, absence of a regional airport, and multiple port developments are some of the other major concerns related to efficient movement of people and goods.

Food security

A significant portion of area under cultivation in the region is rapidly being converted into non-agricultural uses. The challenge is to protect the agricultural land base and to encourage its active use for food production. Also, the productivity of the current agricultural land in the region is poor owing to unsustainable practices, lack of sufficient infrastructure and loss of agricultural labourers.

Water

In the region, water tables are rapidly declining and its quality deteriorating, with saline intrusion affecting aquifers along the entire coastal region. Crucial, irreplaceable water bodies continue to be threatened by industrial and residential expansion.

Environment

Natural resources are under severe strain because neither their use, nor plans for their protection, conservation, and augmentation are coordinated among the stakeholders within the region.

Infrastructure

One of the biggest challenges faced in the region is the accessibility to physical and social infrastructure, especially in the rural areas. Due to this inaccessibility to both physical and social infrastructure in rural areas, there is migration towards the urban areas thereby adding tremendous stress on the existing infrastructure.

Livelihoods

Puducherry has one of the highest per capita income levels in the nation and it is ironically surrounded by some of the poorest districts of Tamil Nadu. From a macro-level perspective, the region’s economic disparities and imbalances are a reflection of contemporary India’s growth.

Heritage

The region is extremely rich with architectural and cultural heritage that dates back hundreds and thousands of years. Rural and urban heritage sites, cultural practices and local traditions in the entire region are under threat of development and economic pressures warranting an urgent need for a comprehensive heritage preservation strategy with government support.

Governance

While our region’s units of government are numerous, in order for the concept of integrated planning to materialize, there should be more collaboration between governmental agencies at all levels. At the same time, the participation of the community is a crucial part of any democracy. Both the government and the citizens need to be enabled and empowered to make any governance work.

Recommendations

Land

Urban Growth boundary. The concept essentially involves demarcating a boundary around an existing growth centre to curtail unplanned or uncontrolled conversion of agricultural lands and open spaces by developers in search of cheaper land.

The concept of designating an urban growth boundary relies heavily on the success of developing compact “complete communities” that support higher densities for a diverse mix of uses with adequate infrastructure, easily accessed through multimodal transportation facilities.

Integrated Rural Ecosystem Greenways. As a buffer to the development and human activities, between the designated urban growth boundaries, connecting greenbelt areas may be identified that serve as buffers and linkages between the growth centres.

Transportation

Paradigm shift required. It is imperative for the PVAC region to make a paradigm shift towards planning its transportation model.

Densely populated regions, if planned appropriately, have smaller carbon footprints per person than less dense areas, which tend to involve higher travel times and thereby higher consumption of energy.

East Coast Road development. 

Development along the East Coast road needs to be controlled to allow only low-intensity, environmentally-friendly development for various reasons including the fact that the ground water levels along the coast cannot meet up to the demand created by such increasing development. New development can be located along The NH45 as a new corridor for development by upgrading it to accommodate high speed transportation systems such as Electric Multiple Units (EMU) or the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

Promote public transport. Make policy changes that incentivize a shift from being car-centric to more public transport driven mobility by adopting Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as a preferred model of development.

Provide high speed transit to connect all the growth centres in the PVAC region.

Promote electric vehicles. Introduce subsidies and incentives for the use of electric vehicles and alternative renewable sources of energy.

Promote walking and cycling across the region by providing pedestrian and cycling facilities or bicycle expressways.

Water

Reduce groundwater extraction. The water budget will stay negative even if all the tanks of the district are rehabilitated. It appears therefore urgent to reduce the amount of groundwater extracted for irrigation.

Improve collaborative water management in the region.

Encourage sustainable water usage for farming and promote organic farming for water saving techniques.

Contain urban water demand. Minimum charge on electricity or introduce a cap on the number of electricity units and water consumed per year.

Introduce ground water metering. Restrict use of bore wells to one season.

Subsidize water harvesting equipment and compulsory provision of rain water harvesting for individual houses.

Water User Associations to manage tanks. Tanks to be managed (rehabilitation, operation and maintenance) should be exclusively done by the Water User Association (WUA) only.

Energy

Promote long term renewable energy plans at the regional level.