Payal Shah

PG-C 162
Assignment- Surat Transformation

Surat, situated on the bank of one of the perennial rivers of South Gujarat
named Tapi, is the oldest mercantile Centres of not just south Gujarat region
but also of Gujarat and initially developed as a factory (trading) town of the
British in the 17th century on account of its location on the coast and also on
the mouth of a delta. The city has about 6 km long coastal belt along the
Arabian Sea.
The citys importance declined for the British after they developed Mumbai
as their base in western India. But the city gained prominence in Gujarat
again when it emerged as a manufacturing hub of the state post 1960, when
Gujarat state was formed. It is also known as Silk city, Diamond city and after
September 1994 as Plague City. Subsequent to the Plague of 1994, the city
authorities undertook one of the most massive clean-up operations in recent
times and also revamped the entire administration of the city. Within two
years, Surat had been transformed from the one of the filthiest cities to the
second cleanest city in the country.
Factors of Surat Tranformation
Industrial Boom
Surat is an industrial boomtown with most of its working population mainly
engaged in the small-scale industry sector. The silver and gold brocade (zari)
industry, embroidery, and weaving of textiles in Surat have a 300-year old
history. After an initial setback in the early nineteenth century due to the
influx of Japanese and European goods, the zari industry was revived in the
early years of the present century. Since the 1980s, the industry has
flourished again due to growing exports.
1. Textiles
The traditional handloom weaving industry, however, has given way to
power-looms, printing, and dyeing of textiles. The Government of Indias
policy since 1956 of providing incentives and protection to the small-scale
industry sector boosted the power-loom industry in Surat. The prolonged
textile strike in Bombay in the early 1980s further boosted the industry in
Surat. Today, the city is one of the largest centres in the world for production
of synthetic fiber fabrics, mainly nylon and polyester.
2. Diamond cutting & polishing

Surat is also one of the largest diamond cutting and polishing centres in the
country, which is yet another important small-scale sector industry. With the
setting up of the Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council in 1966,
diamond exports received a further impetus and consequently, the number
of cutting and polishing units also increased.
3. Large-scale industries: Recent industrial development in and around
Surat
The major industries that have come up in and around Surat such as a major
port at Hazira, petro-chemical refinery, natural gas, cement, steel plant etc.,
with a total investment of about Rs. 1,00,000 million.
Urban Innovation
Historically, Surat City was known for its filthiness, a city floating on sewage
water. Over forty percent of its population lives in slums. The dirty water
flows and stagnates around the houses, particularly in the monsoon when
low-lying areas are prone to waterlogging. Consequently, the city has always
been a fertile ground for epidemics of water-related and water-borne
diseases.
The plague of 1994 broke out in the outskirts of Surat, which became a part
of the city. While the condition of the entire city with regard to basic
amenities is quite poor, like the worst in access to water supply, sewerage,
and drainage and solid waste management facilities. The plague jolted the
city authorities in Surat into realizing that theirs was one of the dirtiest cities
in the country.
Cleaning up the Plague from the City
A major drive
management in
revamped, staff
waste collection

was launched for slum improvement and solid waste

the city. Simultaneously, the city administration was totally
and equipment was redistributed, and contracting for solid
and street cleaning was initiated.

For improving solid waste management, the six zones of the city were further
subdivided into 52 sanitary wards, each having one sanitary inspector, two
sanitary sub-inspectors, and three supervisors. Micro-level planning was
introduced in order to ensure equitable distribution of all resources
manpower, machinery, and finance among the 52 wards. Sweepers were

posted round the clock at nuisance spots, and such locations were invariably
cleaned at least twice a day.
As part of the street-sweeping and scraping contracts, all major roads are
now cleaned twice once by the contractors staff at night and then again by
the Corporation sweepers during the day. Streets adjoining the vegetable
market, too, are cleaned at night by contractors. Stringent enforcement held
the key to the success of the clean-up operations. The Surat Municipal
Corporation started to enforce strict hygiene and sanitation standards in
eating houses, sweetshops, fruit, and vegetable shops. Levy of fines for
littering of the public places was instituted.

Government Role
Post-plague the municipal corporation, and now the SMC, has taken a lot of
initiatives to change the face of the city. Water samples are collected on a
daily basis to monitor water quality. Water is discharged based on the
parameters set by the Pollution Control Board thus bringing down the cases
of water-borne diseases. The city was active in bidding and translating
several small projects for improving their service delivery under the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Surat city won
four out of the nine awards for excellent performance under the JNNURM
scheme in 2009.
Zero slum initiative is another one of the schemes adopted by SMC. Under
this initiative, about 30,000 houses have been constructed. About 60 percent
of the engineered and unauthorized settlements have been removed from
the river banks and were provided with economically weaker segment (EWS)
houses at a subsidized monthly mortgage. Houses for remaining settlements
are currently under construction and are expected to be allocated to people
living in slum by 2016. Parks have been constructed along the riverfront to
enhance the aesthetic experience of the citizens. However, the SMC
acknowledges that as the city grows, slums keep growing, and so reform
plans should be ongoing.
Several factors make the city attractive for any resilience initiative.
a. It has a stable political environment
b. The local government shows tremendous interest in improving the
condition of the city and on raising it to a global level

c. The local population is quite supportive of any substantial measure

taken towards improvement.
The city is an active participant in many of the national and state level
programs and has taken active initiatives in meeting the basic demands of
its people. The public services and infrastructure are maintained by Surat
Municipal Corporation (SMC). SMC has taken many large initiatives towards
building city resilience against flooding, climate change, disease outbreak
and crime.