Ahmedabad clears Hansol town-planning scheme after 24-year delay

Town Planning Scheme No. 67 in Hansol, covering 118 hectares, has received preliminary approval after remaining stuck for 24 years, clearing the way for development along Ahmedabad’s eastern riverfront.

The approval will open more than 50 hectares of land adjoining the Taj hotel and Sabarmati Riverfront on Airport Road for development.

For more than two decades, the draft town-planning scheme for land adjoining the Army Cantonment had remained with the state government without preliminary clearance.

As a result, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) could not open roads or take possession of reserved plots, while development permissions for private plots were also held up.

The scheme had faced delays because of litigation and issues involving the Army Cantonment.

The approval is expected to allow roads to be opened and reserved plots to be developed in the eastern part of the city.

The scheme will also facilitate a planned riverfront road from Shahibaug Dafnala past the Taj hotel to Indira Bridge.

Another road and an underpass near the hotel are also part of the planned development.

The approval is expected to change the development pattern along the eastern side of the Sabarmati Riverfront and provide new connectivity around Airport Road.

The preliminary approval marks a major step forward for a town-planning scheme that had remained stalled since the early 2000s.