3.4 Policies and plans

3.4 Policies and plans

This section explores the policies and plans shaping Dharwad’s growth through a climate change and informality lens.

A perusal of projects proposed for Dharwad under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) indicate that these could play a subsidiary role in addressing the larger climate change effects on the city region. The Smart City Plan (SCP) primarily focusses on improving the connectivity of the city to garner more investment in the Northern Karnataka region. It also focusses on improving the internal connectivity within the municipal limits. The proposal foresees potential in improving the liveability in the city through place making initiatives. The existing gardens, parks, nallah, and wetlands are seen as spaces that can be enhanced for community engagement. The city aims to shift to the use of renewable energy through the implementation of solar roof tops and solar streetlights. These are proposed to be implemented in convergence with Solar City Programme17 and PPP schemes. Additionally, they are making efforts to increase the efficiency of MSME through the adoption of better technological inputs to lower carbon emissions. A large majority of the projects proposed in the SCP are however concentrated in Hubballi. Hardly any projects cater to the needs of the informal settlements in Dharwad.

Regarding planning for informal settlements in the city, the master plan 2031 (revised version) for Hubballi-Dharwad has stipulated guidelines for slum redevelopment that need to be undertaken by KSDB/Local Authority/HDUDA/KHB or any other Government agency. Among the re-development specifications, 10% of the community area is required to be designated for parks and 5% as common areas (HDPA, 2016). With respect to improving the city environment, the master plan designates areas around the water bodies as “no development zone” where only activities associated with the lake are allowed and development of parks can be considered. The buffer zone demarcation is based on the size of the water bodies. The BRTS corridor along the national highway connecting Dharwad with Hubli has transit-oriented development zone of 500m on both the sides where compact high-rise development is proposed. There are also provisions to create public spaces in these zones.

Over the years, multiple schemes and programmes have been launched to improve the living conditions of slums dwellers. These include the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched in 2005 which included provisions to offer civic amenities to the urban poor, the Rajiv Awas Yojana launched in 2009 which envisioned a slum free country, and the latest being the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U) launched in 2015 with a goal to provide housing for all by 2024. However, ground realities reveal that many slum dwellers are yet to reap the benefits of such schemes. Some cite the inability of slum dwellers to pay the Rs.50000 required from the beneficiary’s end for the PMAY scheme18. Systemic delays in implementation are also cited as issues inherent in these schemes. At present Karnataka has completed just 29% of the sanctioned projects under the PMAY, and Dharwad is one of the worst performing districts with just 16% of the projects completed. The lack of basic infrastructure also goes unaddressed in many of the redeveloped housing projects (DH, 2022). PMAY is implemented in convergence with other housing schemes in the state including Ashraya Vajpayee Housing Scheme, Ambedkar Housing Scheme, Special Housing Scheme, etc. The

17financing of renewable energy projects / systems as per provisions of various schemes of MNRE 18 Under PMAY scheme, the Government has to provide houses worth Rs 5 lakh each to the EWS from which Rs1.5 lakh is sponsored by the central government, Rs 1.5 lakh is contributed by state government, Rs 1.5 lakh is taken as loan by the beneficiary while the remaining sum of Rs 50,000 is also contributed by them.