Ahmedabad

Gujarat is set to have five satellite towns with metro-like facilities and economic capacity to reduce pressure on major cities by 2030, officials said on Friday.

According to a government release, plans are afoot to develop Sanand near Ahmedabad, Savli (Vadodara), Kalol (Gandhinagar), Bardoli (Surat), and Hirasar (Rajkot) as satellite towns.

"The state government has invited urban planners to prepare master plans for these cities and has initiated the process of appointing planners through tenders. By 2030, the state plans to equip these towns with metro-like facilities and strengthen their economic capacity, thereby reducing pressure on major cities," the release said.

A satellite town is a town located near a major city, reachable within an hour, which will create new employment opportunities, and be equipped with world-class infrastructure and citizen-centric facilities.

The release said that the towns will have state-of-the-art infrastructure, well-organised public transport with electric bus services, advanced water supply and waste management systems, ring roads, urban forest parks, scenic lakes, model fire stations, and mixed-use infrastructure with offices, homes, and shops nearby, it stated.

"To achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 and accelerate the holistic development of every state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned the strategic growth of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Building on this vision, the Government of Gujarat, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has decided to develop five towns of Gujarat as 'satellite towns'," it said.