EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Block and Village Development Plan for Palwal, Haryana, 2031 The block and village development plan for Palwal 2031 as a Studio exercise has been taken up in second semester to prepare a sub-regional plan of substantial geographical size having a rural and urban composition. The analysis was carried out in four phases: pre-study, literature survey and identification of villages, field survey comprising of qualitative and quantitative data collection, data analysis data and identification of issues and potentials, followed by formulation of policies and proposals. The study has integrated sectoral and spatial planning approach. Various sectors such as regional setting, demography, economy, traffic and transportation, housing, infrastructure, environment, disaster management, governance and finance are studied. The spatial approach is achieved by dealing with each sector, their spatial distribution and areal differentiation. The interrelationship between each sector and the spatial pattern of development is analyzed. Palwal district being part of National Capital Region (N.C.R.) and Haryana sub-region is proposed as a regional centre in 2021. It serves as a potential region for economic development in Palwal as well as adjoining districts. Moreover, the Dedicated Freight Corridor (D.F.C.) alignment along with Kundli Manesar Palwal (K.M.P.) and Kundli Ghaziabad Palwal (K.G.P.) expressway is passing through Palwal, giving a boost to economic development of the district. This development shall trickle down to rural region for balanced regional development. Hence, a plan is required for inducing uniform development over the space. iii Regional Connectivity: Figure 1: Regional Connectivity of Palwal Block Palwal District is strategically located with respect to the whole NCR and is well connected by both Road and rail network. A broad gauge railway line connects it to the Indian Railways network of the Delhi Agra Branch line. In Road connectivity, It is served by two National Highways NH 2 and NH 71B. NH 2 connects block to Delhi (65kms) and Mathura (86kms) and beyond and NH 71B which connects it with Source: Author analysis Rewari located at a distance of 83kms via Sohna (30kms) and Bhiwadi (60 Kms) .Palwal is connected to Aligarh located 85kms to the East by SH 22A. Palwal block is connected to Prithla (14 Kms) and Faridabad (30 Kms) by NH2. Sohna is located (30 Kms) away on NH71B. Palwal block is linked to other blocks of the district through a network of Major district and other district roads. The block headquarters connected by M.D.R. are Hathin (18 Kms), Hassanpur (34kms). Palwal is located at a distance of 30 km from Yamuna expressway and the proposed YEIDA corridor on the East. Yamuna Expressway can be approached from Palwal at Tappal via Hamidpur which is located on the SH 22A of Uttar Pradesh to Aligarh. Physiography and Climate: Palwal lies in the semi-arid zone and experiences extreme weather conditions during summer and winter. The average rainfall for the district and block is 65cms. River Yamuna flows on the eastern margins of the Block and District. Agra canal was opened in 1874 and originates from the Okhla Barrage in Delhi and goes till Agra, passes thorough the district having a North South iv alignment on the Eastern portions of the district. It was opened for irrigation and navigational purposes. The district is located in the Alluvial plains of the Indo Gangetic belt and can be largely divided into the eastern Khadar belt (new alluvium) and the western Bhangar belt (old alluvium). Settlement Pattern: Palwal block has one Sub-Regional Centre i.e. Palwal and one service centre i.e. Chandhat. Central villages are Dhatir, Tikri Brahman and Ghori while rest of the villages fulfils the criteria of Basic village (refer figure 2). Figure 2: Settlement Pattern of Palwal Block, 2011 Source: Primary Census Abstract, 2011 Figure 3: Population concentration in Settlement Hierarchy Source: Primary Census Abstract, 2011 v Land Utilization: Land utilization of Palwal block has been studied under 6 broad categories of agriculture, built- up, forest, water bodies, barren land and cultivable wasteland. Palwal block has an area of 35625 hectares. This study is based on data collected from International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies and land utilization data collected from online resources (Bhuvan Website). A comparison has been done of Land utilization of Palwal block for 2005-06 and 2011-12 years respectively(refer figure 4). In 2005-06, land utilization of Palwal block shows that agriculture has the largest share amongst all the categories. It consists of 77 percent of the total area. Palwal block has 16 percent of water bodies. Only 5 percent area comes under built-up area. Barren land covers 2 percent area. Forest land has very small share that is less than 1 percent. Figure 4: Land Utilization of Palwal Block (2005-06, 2011-12) Figure 5: Land Utilization of Palwal Block, 2005 - 2011 Source: International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies, 2014 vi Demography: The population of Palwal district in 2011 was 10, 42,708 with Palwal block having a share of 32 percent population. The decadal growth rate of Palwal block is 43 percent for the year 2001- 2011, which is highest amongst the blocks in the district. Palwal block has highest density of more than 900 persons/sq km among all the blocks in the district owing to the concentration of educational, health and economic activities in Palwal district headquarters. The population density is high in areas lying in the vicinity of Palwal town, National Highway and State Highway outstretching from the Urban Node as compared to the distant rural villages (figure 8). The workforce participation is also found higher in the adjacent region of the city with higher percentage of marginal workers as compared to other villages Figure 6: Block wise Density of Palwal District Figure 7: Block wise Main & Marginal Workers In 2011 of Palwal District In 2011 Source: Primary Census Abstract, 2011 vi i Figure 8: Village wise Population Density of Palwal Block, 2011 Source : Primary Census Abstract, 2011 Figure 9: Village wise Man and Marginal Workers of Palwal Block, 2011 Source: Primary Census Abstract, 2011 Economy: To understand the overall economy of the block and selected villages of district Palwal, various economic sectors of the Palwal district were studied which was necessary to ascertain the Source: FD with Deputy Director of Agriculture department. position of Palwal block in it. The study analyzed the economic sectors of the selected villages in the block to find out the key drivers of the economy. The dominant sector in Palwal block is primary sector. The terrain is flat The agricultural production is higher in Khadar (new alluvium) belt as compared to Bhangar (old alluvium) belt and lowest in some of the villages along SH13 due to high salinity of soil. Due to upcoming infrastructural projects like DFC, KMP and KGP, Palwal is likely to have stimulated economic development. vi ii Figure 10: Crop Production of Palwal Block (2011) Figure 11: Location of Industries in Palwal Block Source: Proposed master plan, Palwal, 2021 According to survey conducted of secondary sector, there are 32 industries in Palwal block out of which 13 micro, 13 small and 6 medium scale industries are concentrated in Palwal city and Dhatir village. The availability of data for study of tertiary sector spatially in the block is restricted to the analysis of storage facilities, employment under MGNREGA and banking facilities in the block. ix Figure 12: MGNREGA Employment of Palwal Block, 2015 Source: MGNREGA Report, 2015, BDO Office, Palwal Figure 13: Percentage Households availing banking facility in Palwal block, 2011 Source: House listing and Housing Census of India 2011 x Housing: The housing condition in the Khadar belt is not good as compared to the other villages. The housing shortage is largest in Palwal block due to increased urbanization and therefore, growth in number of slums is observed. Figure 14: Housing shortage of Palwal Block, 2011 Source: House listing and Housing Census of India 2011 Transportation: The road network in the block comprises of two National Highways, one State Highway, one Major District Road and two Other District Roads. The total length of NH 2 and NH 71B in the block is 26 km, SH 13 is eight k.m long, MDR 135 is seven km in length, and ODR is 23 k.m. respectively The National Highway and State Highway serve 32 percent and 15 percent of the population of the block. All villages of the block are connected with all weather roads. A higher number of transport options and their frequency from Palwal to Delhi and Gurgaon show inter dependency of people for employment, health and education facilities. All villages of the block are connected by all weather roads and there is a higher frequency and number of bus connectivity to Gurgaon and Delhi as compared to other routes thus indicating higher interdependency of people for employment, health and education facilities. xi Figure 15: Route Density (Bus and Rail) Source: Data collection from Haryana Roadways Infrastructure Facilities: Under Physical Infrastructure, water supply and electricity and under Social Infrastructure education, health and community facilities are covered. Palwal block ranks first among the five blocks of the district in the terms of Physical Infrastructure facilities. There is no perennial source of water supply in the block. Ground water is extracted along Yamuna and Agra canal belt and supplied to all the villages by PHED. As per PHED, 55LPCD is supplied to all the villages in Palwal Block. Sewerage system is present only in Palwal town; all other settlements have open combined drains for both storm and waste water. Households with toilet facility have septic tanks.