Curation Team
AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is set to implement comprehensive greening measures that will transform the city’s urban landscape, with CM Bhupendra Patel scheduled to unveil draft policies on July 19.
Under the new ‘Greening Policy Measures for a Greener Ahmedabad’, all new town planning schemes must allocate 5% of total land for green cover.
Of this allocation, 1% must be specifically reserved for urban forests using the Miyawaki method, which enables dense plantations in short timeframes. The policy builds upon existing state govt mandates.
Previously, the state’s Town Planning Act allowed a maximum of 5% land reservation for gardens and parks, but the new policy makes this allocation mandatory.
Both the greening policy and the accompanying ‘Policy for Good Construction Practices’ will take effect on Friday. The AMC will establish an urban greening advisory committee comprising senior officers, urban planners, environmental experts, community leaders, NGO representatives and industry stakeholders including Credai members, builder associations, GIDC and educational institutions.
They will provide necessary advice and suggestions to increase and maintain green cover in the city.
Ward-level committees will address local implementation challenges, while public and private properties will be encouraged to participate in tree planting initiatives.
Green infrastructure including oxygen parks, rain gardens, rooftop gardens, lake gardens, urban forests, ecological parks and biodiversity parks will be developed throughout the city.
Penalties for illegal tree cutting will also increase. Anyone cutting a tree must plant 10 new trees within three years and submit a Rs 5,000 deposit per tree, with additional fines for environmental damage. New road development projects face specific requirements. Roads 24 metres or wider must include 1.50-metre-wide dividers for planting, with original soil preservation mandatory.
Footpaths must include tree planting spaces every 5 metres, with circular tree pits measuring 1 metre for wider roads and 2.5×2.5-foot pits for narrower streets.
The policy prohibits changing the designated purpose of plots reserved for gardens, urban forests or other green spaces in TP schemes, ensuring long-term protection of green infrastructure.
City’s first BRTS on-route charging station will also be inaugurated at the July 19 event. AMC’s solid waste management department employees will be honoured for achieving first rank in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25.
