Explained: Dholera-SIR, an innovative city that is presumed to solve India's climate crisis
Recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India is aiming to become a Net Zero Emissions nation by 2070. This announcement was made during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). As part of this unique initiative, emphasis has also been given on the need for living a green lifestyle and to engage in the ongoing Pro Planet Peoples’ Movement, a global mission that has been proven vital to combat climate crisis by directly linking every individual to the environment. Keeping this in mind, a grass-root world class industrial smart city, called Dholera-SIR, is already being set up. Here’s what we know so far about this innovative city.
What is the aim of Dholera-SIR initiative?
Farmers in India have been suffering from the acute climate crisis, which is why the union government has started to shift the focus on a combination of going back to the basics as well as advancing into the future. The goal is to encourage small farmers, who are in desperate need of assistance to try out natural farming and digital agriculture that have been already emphasised in this year’s union budget. Efforts are also being made to enhance palm oil business as well as focusing on the security of food and nutrition, using bio-fortified methods.
Where has Dholera-SIR been implemented?
Dholera-SIR has been built near Ahmedabad, Gujarat and is spread across 920 square kilometres. It is India’s first Greenfield Industrial City and is situated 72 kilometres away from Ahmedabad on the shore of Arab Sagar’s Cambay region, that is highly suitable for export and import. The key plan of this city includes balancing the industrial with the ecological. The city is made out of 22 villages and about 520 square kilometres have been set aside farming. It is being built in such a way, that the city can feed its population from the surrounding green area.
What are the facilities that will be available in Dholera-SIR?
This world class smart city called Dholera-SIR will have facilities such as the country’s largest dedicated solar power park that will produce more than 5000 mega watt power, a four-way connectivity (air, water, rail and road) with international port and airport connecting the city with the rest of India and the globe, self-sustainable model of a city with 12 distinct land-use zones such as for food, employment, recreation that will not only fulfil the basic needs of the citizens but also offer them with all kinds of modern and smart life facilities. Another significant part of Dholera-SIR is its aim to emerge as a Special Economic Region and generate more than 8 lakh skilled jobs in NextGen industries such as Defence, Aerospace, Robotics, EV and Solar Power. The ultimate goal is to accommodate 20 lakh global citizens and make it a smart city with smart infrastructure, smart utilities, smart technology, smart mobility and smart connectivity.
Salient features of Dholera-SIR city
- The city will have a central command and control centre namely ABCD building to govern the city efficiently and facilitate all kinds of services. This will be India’s first certified green building.
- Some of the key attractions include: 250-metre-wide central spine, 70-metre-wide internal road, minimum 12-metre-wide road inside the residential society, minimum 18-metre-wide road for industrial sub-plots, and Floor Space Index (FSI).
- An Activation Zone developed with ready to plug & play infrastructure.
- 1000-acre land allocated to build up a Special Education Zone.
- World’s most efficient Water Treatment Plant with only 5% water loss.
- It will also include all schemes launched by PM Modi namely, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Made in India, Digital India, Skill India, Smart City and PMGatiShakti.