The State’s focus on urban infrastructure has drawn investment but created islands of development

A quick hop onto a slick BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) bus, with its dedicated corridors in the middle of the road, can get you breezing past the crawling traffic in the circular city of Ahmedabad. The even layer of tar on arterial roads affords a smooth ride. But venture a little further to the mofussil talukas of Ahmedabad district and a civic chaos plays itself out; people precariously spill out of rickety auto-rickshaws plying on undulating dirt tracks.

This skewed picture becomes starker when compared to Gujarat’s rural districts. For instance, the beautified, renovated and replenished Sabarmati river that runs through Ahmedabad city has seven bridges over it, while in the adivasi-dominated hilly Chhota Udepur district children were reported to be swimming daily across the Hiran river to reach school in the absence of a connecting bridge.

The emergence of ‘brand Gujarat’ is, therefore, a study in contrast.

The Narendra Modi regime saw a policy shift from rural to urban infrastructure that served Gujarat well in attracting investment, but also created islands of development in the process.

Mr. Modi had declared the year 2005 as ‘Urban Development Year’ and announced the formation of Urban Development Mission. The urbanisation drive envisaged mega projects such as special investment regions (SIRs), the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) and the industrial hub of Dholera on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, both touted as a prototype of a ‘smart city’.

Some of the upcoming projects currently undertaken by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board include four lane highways between Dakor and Savli, Vadodara and Dabhoi, Surat and Olpad and Bardoli; the Ahmedabad-Dholera Central Spine Express Road, Dholera International Airport, Ahmedabad-Dholera Metro Rail Project and mega industrial parks. A total of about 2,093 sq. km over seven locations are being developed under the SIR category and six more are on the cards.

Last October, at a national convention of urban planners, consultants, technology providers, the Gujarat government gave a major thrust to its big-ticket urban projects.

“Gujarat has taken care of the ‘ bijli, sadak, paani issues. Whether this growth is inclusive or not needs to be checked,” says Rajesh Shah of the NGO Vikas. “In Ahmedabad, the BRTS and the Sabarmati riverfront development were the two major initiatives in infrastructure. As cities grow, mass transport systems will become a must. However, the impetus has been mostly on physical infrastructure. Rural concerns and quality of education have to be addressed.”

According to the 2011 Census, 42.6 per cent of the population of Gujarat resides in urban areas. Between the decade of 2001 and 2011, the State saw a growth of about five percentage points in its urban population size, which is more than the rate of growth in the previous decades. In the same decade, the cities of Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Surat posted a significant jump in population, whereas their adjoining rural areas recorded a negative growth, in an indication of a migration trend.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has stuck steadfastly to the path laid down by her predecessor. Addressing a function at the Indian Merchants Chamber in Mumbai this September, Ms. Patel urged investors to invest in infrastructure projects in her State.

The Gujarat government’s budget for 2014-15 sets aside Rs. 2,311 crore for rural development. Going by this figure, the total allocation for rural development over the next 15 years would be around Rs. 40,000 crore — a robust sum; and yet it pales in comparison to the Rs. 70,000 crore investment through public-private partnership in the 886-acre GIFT city, launched in 2007 and expected to be completed by 2022. However, even his detractors credit Mr. Modi for greatly improving the power situation in the State through the Jyotigram Yojana, which promised 24-hour electricity to every home.