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Bhubaneswar Cuttack Urban Complex - Vision Orissa 2030

HNF Bureau

June 20, 2007

Looking at the growing population in the Capital city of Bhubaneswar, adjacent city of Cuttack which has been traditionally the commercial hub of Orissa and the peripheral towns, visualisation of Bhubaneswar – Cuttack Urban Complex by the government of Orissa and working hand to hand with the most prestigious institute like IIT Kharagpur has been the right step at the right time.

As Urban Population in the State has witnessed a growth of about 30% in the last decade, the increasing demand for better civic amenities, infrastructural facilities and employment opportunities in the urban areas has posed a challenge for the Government. Besides, Orissa has emerged as the most sought after destination for the national as well as international investors who are interested in the mining and mineral Industries.

Modern Bhubaneswar was originally meant to be a well planned city with wide roads and many gardens and  parks. A part of the city has only stayed faithful to the plan designed by internationally acclaimed urban planner, Otto. H. Koenigsbarger. But it has grown rapidly over the last few decades with the population almost doubling every decade. This has made the planning process unwieldy. The city now has a population of close to 0.6 million.

With the population growth, frequent inflow of people in search of a better fortune and the corporate rush, Bhubaneswar needs a planned expansion to accommodate everyone at every level of economy. For this, the city needs more space or a significant plan as the city is now short of adequate space and almost forced for a vertical growth. In this situation, the other major challenges are housing in a planned manner, a more systematic drainage and sewerage system, management of wastes – both solid and fluid, educational institutes, Commercial buildings to enable the corporate houses with desired space for their offices, spacious complexes in order to provide adequate opportunities for shopping, an effective system of local transport and, above all, sufficient provision for accommodation that too keeping the city environ unpolluted or less polluted. However, the anticipated growth in the coming years with their physical manifestation and growing population are likely to exert tremendous pressure on the existing resources which demands a planned intervention in the region.

Keeping all these in view, The government has planned to go for a comprehensive development project named Bhubaneswar – Cuttack Urban Complex stretching over an area of 720 sq. km. Covering two major cities of the state like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and three small adjacent towns like Khurda, Jatni and Choudwar with a total population of 1.58 million. Since the project has to be monitored by efficient planners and designers, Government of Orissa has signed an MoU with IIT Kharagpur. The Department of Architecture and Regional Planning has been assigned the task of preparing the Perspective Plan and Comprehensive Development Plan for the holistic and integrated development of Bhubaneswar - Cuttack Urban Complex, with a deadline to realise the vision by 2030.

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The basic purpose of the Perspective plan is to provide a policy framework for further detailing that serves as a guide for urban local authorities plan for a sustainable development. The Comprehensive Development Plan will focus on identification of the thrust areas, phasing of development initiatives indicating the financial outlays for their implementation. Intended to concentrate on the Bhubaneswar – Cuttack Urban Complex and its adjoining hinterland, the Plan aims to start from viewing the entire urban system from different perspectives such as Economic, Demographic, Housing, Urban Infrastructure, Entertainment, Social Infrastructure including Health, Education and other public services, Environment, Heritage and Cultural, Political and Institutional etc. with a futuristic approach. Hence, the idea of Perspective Plan preparation revolves around the idea of optimum allocation of available and potential resources to enhance the quality of human life in the urban areas and boost economic activities and employment opportunities.

It is believed that, optimum allocation and effective utilization of resources can be only met with adequate and appropriate provision of infrastructure. Realising the need of quality and skilled manpower to grasp the upcoming opportunities, the regulatory institution for technical education BPUT has signed an MoU with IIT, Kharagpur to obtain assistance for facility development and strengthening post-graduate and research programmes in various Engineering and allied disciplines.

A long-term project in collaboration with a prestigious institution like IIT Kharagpur brings lot of hopes in the mind of everybody. On realization of the project, Orissa will have an urban complex keeping in it the latest trends of twenty-first century. Expected to be one of the leading economic centers of Eastern India, this complex will be the hub of business activities that, in turn, will create lot of employment and self-employment opportunities. The land value of adjoining small towns will go up as the scope of housing and Real Estate Business will see a boom in the total urban complex. More over, the quality of life in the complex will be at par with other metros and Cosmo polis. The dream project would bring lots of relief to the people living in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar who have been suffering due to existing ill-managed drainage and water supply systems and illegal road-side vending clusters.

The major obstruction on the development highway, as it is drawn, would be the slums mushroomed across the cities and towns. Either the government and the planners have to plan some space for the slum dwellers or create low cost housing complexes to shift the families living in slums in order to make the larger city slum free.

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(Channel Carrying Drain Water into Bay of Bengal at Puri, Orissa)

Photo: Ranjan Ganguly