Riverfront Development in Indian Cities: The

Missing Link
social context has changed since then, values, rituals and
symbols still have considerable significance in Indian society.
Vriddhi In addition there has been an exponential increase in the
Faculty of Architecture development pressure on cities due to influx of population
Manipal University from rural areas. This has led to a corresponding increase in
Manipal, India demand for public realm in cities. To attract investments cities
[email protected] need to portray a sustainable social, economic and cultural
[email protected] outlook. However, rivers in India have been neglected and
health of the river systems are far below global standards. The
conditions are fast deteriorating with increasing amount of
Abstract— Planned development and redevelopment of solid and liquid discharge dumped in these rivers. Besides,
riverfronts are a recent phenomenon in the Indian development concern of climate change, ecology and depleting resources
landscape. Contemporary riverfront development projects have become important considerations for all urban
generally aim to boost the economy of riverfront cities and are development projects.
seen as tools to upgrade and improve the image where social and
Riverfront development encompasses ecological, economic
ecological benefits are offshoots of development efforts. Cities in
and social aspects. Though fast transformations take place in
India have diverse conditions, leading to unique contexts which
demand different approach to each development. The paper
economic domain while social and ecological changes take
discusses two issues for riverfront developments in India that time to manifest. Planning and design of public realms require
appear to be the missing links for the projects from planning and interpolations and assessment of needs, opportunities and
organizational perspective. Public participation and further a possible threats, so it is not surprising that the economic
propelling body identified from the stakeholders which can benefits outweigh social and ecological ones. In India social
utilize their specific expertise for supervision, implementation sustenance which was earlier well woven into the economic
and maintenance of these projects to bring fast and effective and ecological fabric, is being eroded. Rivers and riverfronts
results. Consequently a corresponding change in planning which were important components of social fabric have
process to accommodate the solutions are suggested. undergone rapid changes due to transformations in their use,
pressure of urbanization and degrading health of river systems
Keywords- Indian Riverfront Development, Public
Participation, Value Centered Planning Process Contemporary riverfront developments in India are facing a
daunting task to achieve a balance between the dichotomous
idea of local vs. the global. Urban development projects,
I. INTRODUCTION
including riverfront developments in India are generally
The association and dependence of human beings, and their undertaken by the local government agencies, following a top
settlements on rivers, can be traced back to ancient times. down approach, whereas planning and design proposals are
Perennial rivers provided fertile floodplains, water, food, prepared by the agencies themselves or by the professional
irrigated lands and easy transportation resulting in river valley consultants without the involvement of stakeholders resulting
civilizations. Industrial age was a major landmark for in poor acceptance of proposals and implementation by the
riverfronts as their roles changed drastically owing to their use agencies or private contractors. This exposes missing links
for navigation purposes along with new inventions, large scale which need to be mended according to a new approach in the
production initiatives, and location of industries along rivers. current planning process The paper starts by discussing the
Another major change was seen in the late 20th century when, type of Riverfront Developments in India and their planning,
retreat of industries from riverfronts led to change in approach design and implementation process. With the help of the
towards development of riverfronts in urban areas which problems highlighted in these developments, it further goes on
increased public access to rivers. Today Riverfront to highlight two missing links in the current planning and
redevelopments are viewed globally as a means of economic implementation process; public participation and absence of
and cultural growth, and are dominated by commerce and propelling body, as the major links which need to be
recreation to create a thriving and continuous public realm. strengthened and created for sustainable results. It concludes by
proposing a conceptual methodology which incorporates the
However, in India, rivers carry religious stature for Hindus
missing links in the process.
from Vedic age, these have been respected and feared as the
provider and destroyer and many pilgrimage centers and
temples are located along the riverfronts. Even though the II. CONTEMPORARY RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS
Riverfront developments in Indian cities have been In contemporary situations riverfronts are seen as an
conventionally guided by socio-cultural benefits. Earlier underutilized resource which can reap economic benefits.
development authorities majorly aimed at improvement of However, the degrading ecology and changing socio cultural
socio-cultural fabric while improving infrastructure and needs are also important. Sabarmati Riverfront Development
amenities along riverfronts. Since most rituals of Hindu culture Project is the pioneering example where riverfronts have been
require the presence of water bodies, religious importance has addressed as a complex problem with a wider range of needs,
always been associated with these developments. However concerns, and aspirations [9]. The riverfront idea was
some rivers owing to their perennial and navigable nature have conceived and gradually developed more than fifty years ago
also been associated with riverfronts as ports. For example, the and has been finally executed recently. Planning and
past development efforts in Haridwar and Banaras have always implementation of the project was fast forwarded with the help
aimed at the provision and improvement of bathing, praying, of the Special Purpose Vehicle – Sabarmati River Front
amenities, etc. The relation between different temples and their Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDL) which otherwise
corresponding ghats has always been the guiding force for would be under the Ahmedabad Urban Development
design. Also, the old developments in port cities as Patna and Authority. The final design and planning was done by the
Kolkata aimed at navigation and portrayal of the city as a private firm HCP [10]. This project has triggered a riverfront
potential trading center. Earlier riverfronts were taken up as wave in the country where cities are opting for well planned,
piecemeal developments with only one aspect in mind. connected and complex developments which address many
needs and concerns of the city. A similar preliminary effort was
seen on Patna riverfront in April 2012 when Ar. Hafeez
Contractor displayed the proposal for New Patna World City
on the banks of Ganga. In a complex context, economic
domain can show fast results but social and ecological changes
take time, resulting in overweighed economic benefits. Some
of the aspects which get overlooked in this scenario are
individual response to the place, social fabric and ecological
concern of the context. Projects of such complexity and scale
have a large number of stakeholders and organizations
involved. The level of participation and representation of these
in the planning process would improve the results.

Figure 2: New Patna World City Proposal by Ar. Hafeez Contractor

Figure 1: Sabarmati Riverfront Development; Source: Sabarmati River
front Development Corporation Limited

III. MISSING LINKS IN THE PLANNING, DESIGN AND

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
Contemporary riverfront developments are complex
problems with involvement of a large number of stakeholders
and organizations. The level of participation and representation
provided to stakeholders become crucial as socio-cultural and
ecological concerns are generally overlooked in such complex
scenarios. Also coming together of a large number of
stakeholders and organizations causes delay due to friction and
loss of capital. These aspects need to be carefully dealt in the
planning process at an early stage to achieve better results.
B. Public Participation
A. Present Planning, design and Implementation Process Public participation has been well established as an
important part of planning processes [6]. In governance public
To understand the current model of planning, design and
participation is not a new concept in India but, involvement of
implementation processes for riverfront developments the base
citizens in planning and design is. The 73rd and 74th
model was taken from top down planning approach of
constitutional amendment decentralized the governing power
development projects in India. It was further refined by
from top down to a more bottom up process. However, the
interviews with government officials of Central Development
same has not been done in planning and the system still
Authorities and national case studies. The model can be applied
remains a top down approach. Public participation is tricky
to different cases with minor modifications according to
where there are vast differences in the society on the basis of
context and size.
gender, community, religion, economy and education. . This
The beginning point of any development project is the creates a difficult situation for the involvement of public.
vision which is an outcome of political or economic interest. Additionally, there is no framework for the involvement of
The City Development Authority (CDA) then refines the vision general public in problem solving and decision making system
to arrive at the aim of the project. The aim sets the scale and of the projects. Currently the planning process incorporates the
scope with reference to budget allocation. After this the next use of outsourcing and delegation of works relating to design,
milestones are formulation of objectives, strategies and data gathering and documentation to private consultants. This
Detailed Project Reports. Depending on the scale of the indirectly results in loss of chances for involvement of public,
projects, private companies are hired for data collection, as the only level of participation which can be achieved is, in
analysis, design and clearance purposes by the CDA via an after stage of design development. At this stage there is no
tenders. This practice has been adopted due to shortage of staff accountability for the consideration of feedbacks from the
with respect to quantity and quality. Widespread change in the public.
tools and techniques used in the industry have not led to a
Sabarmati Riverfront Development has used public
subsequent skill improvement making outsourcing a norm.
consultation in the project but it happened at the end stages of
Another concern is under representation and neglect of planning and design. The drawings and views of the
important stakeholders esp. of socio-cultural and ecological development plan was displayed in the form of an exhibition
origin like common people and River Basin Authority. With on the river's bank. Public suggestions were invited as
private companies dealing with major part of the planning and feedbacks, but there was no mechanism for consideration of
design process, involvement of stakeholders takes the form of these suggestions [8]. Although in another project, Patna
tokenism for clearance purposes. This leads to overweighed Riverfront Beautification, the Environmental Impact
economic benefits. Absence of direct feedback loops involving Assessment was conducted and the report mentions focus
stakeholders creates loss of important perspectives in design group discussion for Public Consultation of affected population
and planning. [4][11]. It’s noteworthy that in the later Public Consultation is a
chapter of EIA for requirement protocol. In either of the cases
Public Participation is not a mainstream process but an
afterthought.
Currently surveys and public announcements are the two
major forms in which the citizens are involved in the planning
process, both have a poor level of interactive participation.
While surveys are used to collect information from the public,
announcements are used to provide one way information.
There is a major gap in the consideration of common public as
an important stakeholder in these projects.

C. Propelling Body
In riverfront development projects the differences in authorities
and large number of stakeholders lead to friction and
inefficiency. These projects are led by the City Development
Authorities or dedicated Development Authorities in some
cases. Their job is to coordinate, implement, manage and bring
together players in an efficient and amicable manner. However
there is a gap in the organizational approach adopted by such
institutions for handling large number of stakeholders apart
from their representative inclusion. The concerns of the
stakeholders are heard but corrective steps are taken as
Figure 3: Current Planning process for Riverfront Developments; Source: bandages in the planning process instead of mainstream
Author
incorporation. The problem is amplified by the inclusion of
private companies which provide design, data collection, EIA, expertise will ensure that loss of data is reduced due to
mapping and documentation facilities. The delegation of a state involvement of many bodies at the same time avoid frictions.
owned work outside leads to a change in intent of work. In
addition to this since the planning authority might not be able
to completely understand the new tools and techniques which
are being used, thus it lacks the ability to supervise and point
out the problems beforehand from implementation perspective.
This results in an information gap as the data supplied cannot
be completely understood by a third party. The problem can be
solved by identification of a propelling body from amongst the
authorities and stakeholders as discussed later.
An effort was seen to solve the same in Sabarmati case by the
creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle – Sabarmati River Front
Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDL). This institutional
arrangement served for the project planning and
implementation. However the scale of SRFD was large along
with construction on the river bed. The creation of a Special
Purpose Vehicle will not be a feasible option for smaller
interventions as riverfront beautification projects but the need
of a propelling or steering committee is evident.

IV. PROPOSED APPROACH TO RIVERFRONT

DEVELOPMENTS
Public participation and a propelling body have been
identified as the two missing links in the planning process for
complex riverfront developments. Efficient incorporation of
citizens in the planning process depending on the aim of
project needs to be further detailed. The identification of
propelling body would help in cooperation and coordination
between the organizations and stakeholders, at the same time Figure 4: Recommended Planning process for Riverfront Developments;
ensuring no loss of data while transmission. To incorporate Source: Author
these changes in the planning process a value centered
methodology [7] has been adopted to make it more adaptive
and conducive to changes even in the later stages. B. Incorporation Of PP In RFD

A. Proposed Planning, Design and Implementation Process Public participation in case of Indian Riverfront Development
Projects is important as people have always felt a cultural and
With the conventional model Figure 3 it is difficult to spiritual connection to the rivers. This tacit connection to the
incorporate public participation identification and incorporation rivers if lost will erode away the socio-cultural aspect of
of a propelling body from the pool of stakeholders. The
integration with the rivers. Hence it becomes imperative that it
planning mechanism needs to be more adaptive and conducive
is well tapped in new developments. According to Arnstein
to change depending on the context. A value centered approach
developed by Randall Mason for Conservation Planning can be there are eight steps in the ladder of Public Participation;
adopted for Indian Riverfronts as most of the cases have Manipulation, Therapy, Informing, Consultation, Placation,
associative value[7]. In the improved model initial field study Partnership, Delegated Power and Citizen Control. These
can be carried after vision formulation to understand and ladders are the different levels at which the involvement can
identify the context and stakeholders. The set of stakeholders happen [1]. Beierle describes six social goals which can be
from Economic, Cultural and Ecological spheres can be achieved through citizen involvement [2]. The task of
analyzed according to their interest, concerns and expertise in educating and informing the public, incorporating public values
their field to arrive at the propelling body. A primary survey in decision making, improving the substantive quality of
and observational analysis of the site can be a part of the initial decisions, increasing trust in city officials, reducing conflict
study which assess the physical, cultural and management and achieving cost effectiveness. The traditional methods of
aspects of the riverfront. Alternately Preliminary Environment public participation which can be used for the above mentioned
Impact Assessment can be conducted to do the same. The goals are: public hearings, public comments, focus groups,
process of identification and details regarding the same will be surveys, nominal group discussion, futures research, Delphi
detailed later in the paper. Once the propelling body is technique, force field, advisory committee, public education
identified depending on the roles and responsibilities delineated [3][5].
it can help in co-ordination between the Urban Development
Authority and other stakeholders. This new link with improved The most important aspect for public participation is the
main aim which it hopes to achieve. This would lead to
reduction in time and cost requirements of the project at the that it is able to act as a mediator between the main
same time improving the quality of the decisions. There can be coordinating body and stakeholders. An adaptive and efficient
two primary objectives for the inclusion of public, first if the mechanism is required for identification of main concerns in
site has high cultural value attached and Public Participation such projects, so that the propelling body can be incorporated
will improve the decisions and solutions. Secondly, to inform at any stage during planning. The roles and responsibilities of
the citizens about the development plan, so that it’s well the propelling body should be well chalked out such that the
accepted, leading to better used and maintained places. In the deciding power remains with government even if coordinating
new riverfront development projects so far in the country the power is reduced. In a project there can be more than one
propelling body depending on the pressing concerns of
second objective has been mainly considered. The inability to
stakeholders, but the ideal situation would be a single body.
use the first objective as the main aim of public participation
reflects the shortcoming even though most of the riverfronts in A propelling body can be identified from the set of
India have a very strong cultural value attached to them. For stakeholders in the project having high concern and expertise.
the second objective the target population were majorly seen as The process of identification of the propelling body can be
the ones being directly affected by the plan in terms of housing, understood from figure 6. After the initial study and
living or employment situations. The inability to identify brainstorming the stakeholders can be identified on the basis of
passively affected population is also a major shortcoming. economic, cultural and ecological concern. After identifying
the stakeholder's interest and concern, the city development
Citizens need to be identified as a stakeholder earlier in the Authority can employ stakeholder Position Mapping Figure 6
planning process. Their role needs to change from mere to arrive at the propelling body. The plotting can incorporate
informants and receivers to active participants in different the interest and concerns of the stakeholders on X axis with
stages of the planning process. This can be achieved by their expertise on Y axis. According to the figure from the list
identification and inclusion from the first step of the planning of stakeholders in a virtual scenario SH1, SH2 and SH3 the
process or as a corrective step after assessment of the most optimum stakeholder for propelling body is SH2 as it has
significance of socio-cultural values. Since, the involvement of a high concern and high expertise in comparison to the rest.
public in a diverse country like India is difficult, social Framing of the roles and responsibilities of the propelling body
entrepreneurs or NGO's working in the corresponding areas can can be undertaken by the a memorandum of understanding or a
be used to incorporate an efficient and effective public legal binding document between the organization and the
participation. Proper representation of the illiterate and government body.
marginalized population should be ensured by conducting
primary surveys of the riverfronts. Modes of income and
employment generation opportunities can be reviewed and
revitalized. Interactive workshops on community level can be
used to understand and extrapolate concerns and needs on a
regular basis. Public participation should be incorporated in the
riverfront developments starting from the vision, objectives,
development, implementation and maintenance stages leading
to better spaces at the same time empowered people.
C. Identification of Propelling Body
Identification of propelling body is a crucial step for riverfront
developments, for the involvement of stakeholders with
crucial interest and expertise. The recognition allows for the
smooth functioning of the overall process with a large number
of players involved at the same time converts a hostile or
concerned stakeholder into a valued mediator which directs
and oversees the process. For example in case of Sabarmati
Riverfront the main pitfall pointed later, was evacuation of
14,000 slum dwellers directly and indirectly [8]. The inclusion
of an NGO or a social entrepreneur as a propelling body Figure 5: Identification process of Propelling body; Source: Author
during the planning process would have led to better results.
Similarly, the main aim of government can be economic
development but correct identification of the concerns like
ecological, cultural, etc. can lead to an early inclusion and
identification of a propelling body in form of River Basin
Authorities, Pollution Control Boards, NGO's etc. as an
effective and efficient body in the planning organization.
The propelling body should be chosen on the basis of
sufficient knowledge of crucial concern for the project such
 riverfront development and their delivery to the users can be
bridged. The final plan would be socially responsive,
economically viable, and environmentally sustainable.
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