PMRDA

[Shirish Kembhavi]

Some Initial Thoughts on How we could contribute to Future of PMRDA 

(off course subject to certain data being made available to us)

Environmental Mapping

To Identify Zones of Natural Resources and areas for protection from “Development” to act as guideline for Future Developable Lands as a basis for land use planning in Future.

 

Development Strategy

To Identify potential Centres for Development in the Region by understanding their strengths to make them into self sufficient semi urban centres with Residential, Educational Centres backed with Job Opportunities /Economic Activity and set up Guidelines and policies for the same  with an objective to deflect pressure on Pune/Pimpri etc.

Including Transit Oriented Development used as a tool to open up certain areas for Development and restrict development in some.

 

Tourism and Heritage Conservation in PMRDA

One of the main focus of the development of the region is to create economic activity and opportunities for the local populace to work in their own area without forcing them to shift their base to urban areas in Search of jobs.

 

Tourism coupled with efforts for  heritage Conservation provide one such huge opportunity if focussed efforts are taken to understand the potential and benefit from the same.

Potential : Pune and surrounding areas offer numerous opportunities which can be capitalised to increase the Tourism in the region which will boost the economy of the region which Include:

·         Forts

·         Religious Structures

·         Historical Places and Monuments

·         Water bodies/ Lakes/Riverfronts

·         Industrial Complexes

·         Institutions and Museums

·         Agro Tourism

·         Nature / Religious Trails 

[Kiran Kalamdani]

Dear Friends,

Here is a slightly different perspective on the subject.

We tend to look at the District of Pune and think that the city of Pune is the best  and the most important thing that has happened to it since the little village called Kasbe Pune started growing in the 12th century which is not entirely wrong. But there is those 1844 villages that make up for half the population spread over the district over a much larger area than the PMRDA Shrish has given figures for. The long process of evolution had lent a certain stability and relative peace with the surrounding environment as well as a social order to these villages. The towns and cities that have since grown in this district are around fifteen to include smaller towns like Rajgurunagar, Bhigwan, Shirwal, Talegaon, Alandi etc.These are incidentally the worst managed and badly hit by the present state of things. They are neither villages nor towns in the proper sense of the word. Along with a number of things needed to be done to the city as Shirish has stated there needs to be a strong emphasis on studying the logic of settlement of these villages and the way their economy, people skills and problems (which are relatively small compared to those of towns or cities). In the lack of traffic, pollution, and other such problems that the cities and towns of the region these villages are far better off than the urban settlements. These villages if strengthened by way of human resources, minor problems relating to education, sanitation, agro-economics can become far more attractive places to absorb growing populations. I am only introducing this idea and am sure these ideas could be developed much further to promote a more balanced and wholistic growth of the PMRDA or Pune District for that matter. The reason I said drawing boundaries on a map for a region does not matter is because control is not synonymous with the drawing of these boundaries. The increasing footprint of cities and the stronger exploitation of the fringes and areas beyond by a number of speculative and exploitative actions are a cause of concern that could be countered by making these villages stronger. In Urban Design we often talk about figure-ground studies. The towns and cities are the figure and the villages are the ground. My appeal is to look at the ground which has had the benefit of evolution and slow growth over the last 2000 years if not more whereas the figure is not more than sixty years old or even less in some places. if each one of us adopts at least one village and looks at its development potential and development plan not merely as a physical development plan but that of its HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX we will have a more humane approach to development. This is not to say that we do not look at the figure at all, but do this as a parallel activity so that the figure and the ground are both is equal focus.

Looking forward to reactions.

Kiran Kalamdani

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