Ahmedabad becoming a concrete jungle; over speeding two-wheelers causing accidents: Gujarat High Court

Ahmedabad will soon become a concrete jungle, the Gujarat High Court said on Monday while lamenting the lack of green cover in the city [Dharini Shah & Ors. v. State of Gujarat & Ors.]. .Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal said that even apartment complexes in Ahmedabad do not have green areas.“They all have parking spaces but no green areas. After some time it (Ahmedabad) will become a concrete jungle, I am being modest in saying that it will become that after some time,” Chief Justice Agarwal remarked.Hence, it emphasized on the need for holistic planning of the entire city in order to tackle the issue of traffic congestion and reduction of green areas..The Bench also comprising of Justice Pranav Trivedi emphasized the need for holistic planning of the entire city of Ahmedabad in order to tackle the issue of traffic congestion and reduction of green areas was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by the certain residents challenging the construction of a flyover at Panjrapole cross-road.The petitioners contended that there are huge green areas with a lot of trees on both sides of the road (of which four are already destroyed), which will be destroyed due to the flyover construction.The same will also result in roads becoming narrow on both sides of the flyover which would cause traffic congestion. It was also argued that the contract of the construction has been given to one Ranjeet Constructions Private Limited which has a track record of having constructed a bridge which had collapsed.Another issue raised by the petitioners was that Ahmedabad has one of the least green cover in the country.The counsel representing the petitioners brought the court's attention towards the fact that there is a 48 percent decrease in the green cover of Ahmedabad since 2011.Referring to a report, the Counsel told the court that the green cover in Ahmedabad in 2011 was 17.96 square kilometers and it has presently come down to about 9 square kilometers.The Court acknowledged the issue raised by the petitioners.Chief Justice Agarwal also raised another traffic related issue and said that the two wheeler riders in Ahmedabad do not wear helmets and drive at high speed causing accidents almost everyday.“And in Bodakdev, the road that is known as Judges Bunglow road is most dangerous. Almost everyday I can hear two-wheelers crossing at full speed," she remarked. The Chief Justice further observed that traffic is a big issue which is not confined to just one particular flyover and needs holistic planning. “It (traffic problem) needs a holistic planning for the city. Sometimes flyovers are only short term plans. They are result of the short term plans sitting at the office without taking the holistic view and without understanding the whole city, planning for any flyover, for any cross-road, for anything of ring road has to be keeping in mind the entire structure of the city,” she further added. .Thus, the Court asked the petitioners to expand their petition by including the discussed issues and listed the matter to be heard further on August 5. .Advocate Salil M Thakore appeared for the petitioners.