Dholera
KAKALI DAS
Modi’s Dream Project turns lifeless and barren!
What was the idea of Dholera smart city?
It took a visionary leader to imagine such a city! A leader who can think 56 years ahead! (slow claps!)
That is when Modi-ji imagined a high tech city like Japan or Singapore. As per Narendra Modi – Dholera was supposed to be TWICE the size of Delhi and SIX times the size of Shanghai – a world class city that would put India on the map!
According to his visions for Dholera, there would be international airport and everything will be smart – road network and lights. It will be a city of future. Everything will be digital in this 900 square km city. Business setup would not be hassle anymore. Smart hotel management, smart hospitals, smart schools, even bathrooms will be smart enough to know when you’re ready to use it!
Tidal energy would be utilised to power the smart city. It will be a mass rapid transit system that too automated. These world class facilities will be monitored from A-B-C-D building, Administration and Business Centre for Dholera. It will be like omnipresence, and whenever something goes wrong, there will be help.
$2.7 billion was total cost estimated for Dholera special investment region. It was to be built in Gujarat coastal area, combining 22 villages. It was designed to become a global finance hub, global film city hub. Everything global! In simple language, it was designed to be a mix of all initiatives like Make in India, Start Up India, Fit India, etc.
Original Plan for Dholera
The plan of Dholera SIR was being readied for a long time. In 2007, when economy was doing well (just before 2008 crash), there was talk of rupee convertibility – no more Government control – market will decide. That could be one step towards becoming global player in the finance world.
In 2007-2008, (when Manmohan Singh was the PM) India was truly opening up to the world – consume global and Make in India for the global market also. Terminologies like smart city, green city, self-sustaining city, world-class city etc. were starting to be used. Congress too gave jumla, that they will make Mumbai another Shanghai. Modi-ji, thus, took a bigger challenge, of creating Shanghai like city from scratch. Hence, Dholera SIR Project was imagined.
Modi-ji said, “A new Gujarat will be ready on the coasts of Gujarat.” But, nobody thought what it would be like, on the coast, will port city be feasible? Will costs ever be recovered?
Maximum Hype Minimum Work!
The big question is, what is being done to match the hype that was created then? Dholera project has not faced any political problem as such, like which usually happens when there is change in power. Despite no political problems, the project is struggling. Mainstream media does not cover this. Why is this project facing problems?
Undoubtedly, companies are entering the new city, infrastructure has been set up, but no big company has yet established there. Recently, ISMC digital has become one of the 3 applicants for $10 billion initiative for semiconductor manufacturing.
A good call by Government to compete against Taiwan which is the semiconductor hub. This company wanted to set up a $3 billion factoryin Dholera investment region, MoU was signed too. But before the process could start, the factory focus shifted to Karnataka, for better incentives and a key resource water supply.
Another company, JioPhone, a project by Reliance and Google – media coverage mentioned it was coming to Dholera. This started ‘Bull Run’ of Dholera. Dholera was almost on a cusp of greatness.
But later we realised it was a game. On YouTube, there can be seen many big creators claiming that Dholera is the next big thing, as if they are going to invest there. You will find 7 Oak Developers in Dholera, or another developer in the description of these channels, trying to sell plot there.
So, whoever is saying good about Dholera is only a middleman trying to crack deals on a plot. It was announced months later that JioPhone will be manufactured in Tirupati, and not in Dholera.
In 2018-2019, it was claimed that Lockheed Martin Corporation was eyeing solar battering manufacturing unit in Dholera, but nothing transpired. This is the pattern; interest is shown but then nobody enters. As a matter of fact, two years ago, officials stated that Dholera SIR was close to critical milestone. Time flew, but Jai Prakash Shivhare, managing director of Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd., has not commented further on the topic, as nothing transpired.
What is wrong with Dholera?
Investments are high, returns low! Dholera is a special investment region, at very high cost construction. It will be a shining gem of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project. Investmentnumbers are high, but despite that interest and hype, 15 years of work by Modi-ji, land is available in discount there, 50% for first few entrants. Apart from Tata group, which has set up Rs4000 crore lithium ion battery plant, there is no other major business.
Planning could be one of the problems. It could be planned in haste. Was the area feasible for such a project? Monsoon time fills this low lying Dholera area with water, which will affect industrial operations. There are further reports that Dholera farmers’ 50% land was taken in the name of infrastructural development, in violation of land acquisition law, 2013. What’s more embarrassing is that many companies silently exited from Dholera, like HCC’s Rs40k-crore waterfront city.
“The big question is, what is being done to match the hype that was created then? Dholera project has not faced any political problem as such, like which usually happens when there is change in power. Despite no political problems, the project is struggling. Mainstream media does not cover this. Why is this project facing problems?”
Lack of professionalism is also the reason. Tenders for power generation in Solar Park were cancelled by the state’s procurement company. Thinking is narrow when we limit infrastructure to just roads and buildings.
Lack of freedom is an another issue. Dubai city administration understands this, so despite being a kingdom, you can freely drink, club, party. International talented people would prefer this freedom in life. Here, the city, Dholera, is 100 km away, and there is prohibition in the state, alcohol is illegal, and there are less facilities. Who will reside there?
The most interesting fact about Dholera is that it was nicknamed Port City at one time, but that port project has been shelved.There is no maritime traffic there. In fact, today, 1 cm of coastline is lost to the sea every day.So much money has been invested – if the city does not turn out to be smart and high tech, if companies and people don’t settle – it will be a loss of our tax money ultimately; it may be semi-debt city.
Gujarat govt. says their success rate is 70% of the MoUs they signed. 1.44 crore worth MoU is signed for Dholera. But Indian Express found something interesting. Out of 9 editions of Vibrant Gujarat summit, (5.5 lakh crore worth MoUs signed) only 7.35% of green energy MoUs, and out of 2 lakh promised jobs, 12000 jobs were created.
The Future of Dholera
Many smart city projects were started with no great endings. Amravati was supposed to be the first smart city, near Krishna River, its foundation stone was set up in 2015 in the presence of PM Narendra Modi. It was supposed to give competition to Singapore, 260 sq. km planned city. Then the Govt. changed (YSR congress), and led to unravelling of Chandrababu Naidu corruption files, and the project was put on hold.
Lavasa, another city, (privately owned), had a good start with good reviews, earned many international architecture awards, but then the corruption in land acquisitionunravelled, ministers were involved. Ultimately, Lavasa was closed.
As far as Dholera is concerned, it will remain an ambitious project of Modi-ji. But, it is almost evident that 900 sq. km project, which was once compared to Delhi and Shanghai, will now have to be downsized. Smart credentials might not be there as it may only be an industrial area, like a backdoor city for factories, on Delhi Mumbai corridor. Smart city dream, at par with Shanghai, will be nothing but a jumla.
To conclude – our politicians are only about showing dreams in the future, and then digging up the past later. If we focused on our real issues and not digging up of the past, there would be one Singapore or Shanghai like city in our vast country. But, it isn’t the case now, because looking forward is getting harder, looking back is easier now. Distracting people is easier, especially the people who are insecure, scared.
26-05-2022
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