As the construction work for the Bharalu – North Guwahati bridge is ongoing and Ring Road initial work is also in progress within the Guwahati city, development authorities are mulling to shift the Fancy Bazar wholesale market to North Guwahati to decongest the city. A source in Dispur talking to GPlus said, “The government has received a proposal from the city development authorities to shift all wholesale markets located in and around Fancy Bazar to North Guwahati,” adding that a detailed discussion on the issue is in the pipeline. The source further said that the proposal is beneficial for the city as in, if Fancy Bazar’s wholesale market is shifted to North Guwahati the heart of the city will be decongested.
“The proposal proposes to construct a logistic park at North Guwahati where all the wholesalers from Fancy Bazar can be accommodated with all the required amenities,” said the source. He also said that as the proposal is in the initial stage the location for the logistic park is yet to be identified. “But the leaders in Dispur are backing the proposal as it is a major solution to decongest Guwahati,” stressed the source. In a move to develop the congested areas of the city, the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is formulating a “master plan” under the “local area plan” for areas between Bharalumukh to Uzan Bazar.
“The work of the master plan is in the final stage,” said a source in GMDA adding that the plan will be discussed with the public. A senior official of GMDA talking to GPlus said, “The survey of the area is complete and the ownership details of the area are also studied.” Local Area Plan (LAP) is the sub-scheme under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The goal of this scheme is to support the preparation of Local Area Plans (LAP) and Town Planning Scheme (TPS) on a pilot basis in 25 States/ Cities and build local capacity for undertaking such tasks. States should be able to replicate this exercise on their own in several of their towns and cities to meet the challenges of planned urban development. Accordingly, Guwahati was selected for the task and the GMDA official explained that usually the most congested areas in a city or a town are selected because it is the central business area.
“Bharalu point till Uzan Bazar, the entire area is choked with traffic. The buildings are too close to each other. There is so much congestion, and it requires redevelopment,” said the official adding that accordingly the area was selected for LAP. The total area of the LAP identified portion from Bharalumukh to Uzan Bazar is 300 hectares which is around 2700 bighas, said the official adding that the entire area is the business hub of the city. The plan will include details on, land use zoning and density, public open space, private open space, car parking, provision of infrastructure, conservation of built heritage, conservation of the natural environment, provision of traveller accommodation, community facilities and design and development standards. The master plan will look at wider roads, and arcades on the buildings, said the official. In architecture, an arcade is a set of contiguous arches that are all supported by columns or piers.
Arcades on the outside of a building normally create a walkway, while an arcade on the inside can be found on the lowest part of the walls. Regarding how will be the plan executed, the official said that if a plot owner is approached to leave a portion of the land whatever ratio it may be depending on the master plan–10 feet or 5 feet, instead of offering cash, the property owner will be given Transferable Development Rights (TDR), which will be a certificate with the help of which the property owner could build one more floor on top of the building, or in a property which is located somewhere else, or even the property owner can sell the TDR to a builder for whatever price he/she wants. In places like Ahmedabad, everything is done through TDRs, stressed the official. On asking the GMDA official if the shifting of the Fancy Bazar wholesale market is part of the master plan, the official did not want to comment saying it is being “studied”.
It needs to be mentioned that in October this year, the All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) raised concerns about shifting the wholesale market from Fancy Bazar. Through a press statement, the AIPC said that the government’s plan to shift the entire wholesale market from Fancy Bazar Galla Patty to Amingaon is a cause for concern. This move may lead to problems with syndicates during loading and unloading, disrupting the livelihoods of local businessmen and complete removal of commercial activity in the area.