“Dholera SIR to be developed on Shanghai model”
- Indian PM Mr. Narendra Modi at Yangshang
Shanghai
is the commercial and financial center of mainland China. In the last two
decades Shanghai has been one of the fastest developing cities in the world.
Since 1992 Shanghai has recorded double-digit growth almost every year except
during the global recession of 2008 and 2009. It is one of the main industrial
centers of China, playing a key role in China's heavy industries. It is dubbed
as the best growing city of the Asian Continent with a high development rate
and that to at a speed that makes it rank among the best ranking city in the
world.
The
dream of the then CM of Gujarat and the incumbent PM of the nation of India is
to develop the city of Dholera on the lines of the city of Shanghai; He has
envisioned the site as the most suitable for the overall development and
in terms of connectivity to the
ambitious freight corridor.
At
Vibrant Gujarat, there was a special pavilion on Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), described as a new Gujarat within Gujarat. The CM spoke proudly
about it, describing it as something that would surpass Shanghai.
There’s
a slight difference between a SIR and a SEZ. For a SEZ, one needs to acquire
the entire contiguous land. With a SIR, even partial land acquisition works.
Dholera will be Gujarat’s first SIR, also the first under Delhi-Mumbai
Industrial Corridor Project (DMIC), the joint initiative with Japan.
With
Gujarat there never have been much problem with the acquisition of land and the
Dholera location is such that the advantages are obvious. The SIR site is
identified over 903 sq km but only 550 sq kms will be developed with an
economic activity area slightly less than 400. It will be a Greenfield
township, within the SIR, the first, but not the only one. Others are also
planned, along the coast and around DMIC.
The
proposed infrastructure connectivity, with Dholera and outside it, smart city
concepts and urban planning, are nothing short of overwhelming. For example,
Dholera will largely run on solar power. There is already a draft development
plan, in public domain. The location has been identified; work on the central
spine road has started. The relevant area has been notified as DSIR. Work is
almost complete at the airport. There is a master plan and there is also a
project development corporation. The environmental clearances are almost over.
By
2018 or thereabouts, Dholera should be in place. Not all States can replicate
everything about Gujarat, even if one accepts rationale of greenfield and
charter cities. But some elements, thinking big, faster clearances, should be
imbibed. That’s common to both Pudong and Dholera.
