Case Study of Magarpatta City

Magarpatta City is envisaged as an integrated township model (Gupta et al. 2012) with an impetus on integrated development and self-sustainability. The planning of an integrated township allows residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, commercial spaces, and recreational areas to have a work-home-leisure lifestyle in the same place. Magarpatta City is spread over 430 acres of land, which originally belonged to nearly 120 farmer families in the village of Hadapsar, a suburban area of Pune City. The farmer families came together to convert their land to develop the city, realizing the value-added land benefits and higher quality of life. Nearly 30% (120 acres) of Magarpatta City area is reserved as natural green cover with added trees and plantations to preserve the area' s natural ecology. Magarpatta City has a 25 acre round-shaped garden in the center, along with discrete gardens ranging between 0.5 and 2 acres in individual neighborhoods. The city is developing sustainable infrastructure (Pundir 2016) using rainwater harvesting, solar water-heating systems, garbage segregation, and ISWM through a biogas plant, vermicomposting, and a plant nursery. To ensure rainwater collection along roadsides, the storm water drainage collection system has soak chambers and trench drains. Interlocking paved blocks and cutout grass concrete pavers are used in open areas to prevent the inundated overflow of rainwater from roads and fields. Recharge bores and mounds have been placed along the open spaces to collect rainwater, enhance subsoil water, and preserve topsoil. An artificial lake, spread over 1.25 acres, harvests rainwater by channeling water from terraces to recharge groundwater levels. Recycled wastewater from sewage treatment plants is used in gardens through drip irrigation, ensuring water conservation and minimizing the temperature in adjacent areas. Other uses of recycled water are in the air-conditioning cooling towers and for flushing in commercial buildings. Rooftop solar water-heating systems in residential buildings meet the hot water demands for bathing and reduce electricity consumption, along with lessening heat effects on the top floors. Fly ash bricks made from dangerous waste produced by thermal power plants have been used in the construction of the project. Compared with traditional bricks, these bricks save the energy required for making cement, offer greater compressive strength with less wastage, and are cost- effective. The segregation of solid waste into biodegradable and nonbiodegradable garbage is done at the waste generation source, with garbage containers not required in the city. Biodegradable organic waste is handled through an organic waste converter (OWC), biogas plant, and vermin-composting. However, part of the nonbiodegradable waste goes for land filling (nonrecyclable) or is sold to vendors (recyclable). The city has a nursery for plants with vermin-composting and a biocompost pit, and manure compost generated from biodegradable segregated garbage is used for sustaining plants and saplings. Magarpatta City has divided residential blocks with courtyard planning, buildings encompassing central open spaces to encourage social interaction. To ameliorate the living standards of residents, recreational facilities and sports activities have been provided close to residential buildings. The sports complex provides a gym, swimming pool, tennis courts, cycling and jogging tracks, meditation centers, and an amphitheater. Access to the educational system for school-going children is envisioned by having preprimary to high-level schools within walking distance of residential buildings. Further, there is the Institute of Management and Technology with an emphasis on postgraduate education. An information technology (IT) park called Cybercity has been established in Magarpatta City, with nearly 6 million square feet of modular office space to offer a wide scope of employment opportunities. Provided with the large space available, companies can lease space, develop business centers, and have scalability options for future expansion. The office space in Cybercity has an uninterrupted power supply and 100% power backup through diesel generator (DG) sets. Besides Cybercity, GoI has approved a special economic zone (SEZ) with an area of nearly 11.98 ha proving electronic hardware and software services. There are two more commercial centers, Megacenter and Pentagon, offering office space for employment and business. Megacenter has five floors of small office areas with food courts, cafeterias, 100% power backup, and sufficient parking. Pentagon has five 8-storied towers, developed as a business center with strict security, 100% power backup, adherence to fire safety requirements, and abundant parking space. To meet residents' shopping and leisure time needs, Magarpatta City has a number of food courts, restaurants, and shopping locations. The mall, comprising an area of 12 acres, envisions renting carpet area to national and international retail giants and has a 15-screen multiplex cinema, hypermarket, and sizable parking. As a part of the medical needs, a multispecialty (with 250 beds) and tertiary care hospital provides treatment for all types of diseases and ailments. In addition, Magarpatta City has a petrol station, power substations, and a library for its residents. The city also has closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for security needs, Internet connectivity, and allied facilities.