Master Plan for Sabarimala Regional Module MASTER PLAN MODULES REGIONAL MODULE 1. BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction and Relevance....................................................................................................1 1.2 Aims and Objectives ................................................................................................................2 1.3 Methodology.............................................................................................................................2 1.4 Scope of the Study....................................................................................................................3 1.5 Structure of the Report ...........................................................................................................3 2. PLANNING REGION FOR REGIONAL PLANNING.......................................................4 2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................4 2.2 Planning Region .......................................................................................................................5 2.2.1 Description of Outlined Planning Regions ................................................................................5 2.2.2 Components of Study in Wider Planning Regions......................................................................6 2.3 Planning Time Frames / Horizon ...........................................................................................7 3. ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS .....................................................................................................8 3.1 Detailed Description of the Region.........................................................................................8 3.2 Itinerary of the Pilgrimage......................................................................................................8 3.3 Impact of Activates in Planning Region 3 and Planning Region 2......................................8 3.3.1 Pilgrim Movement and Modal Split ...........................................................................................9 3.3.2 Description of Transit Nodes .....................................................................................................9 3.3.3 Description of Other Main Halt points ....................................................................................11 3.4 Impact of Activities on Planning Region 1...........................................................................14 3.4.1 Identification of Activities and their Impacts ...........................................................................14 3.4.2 Area Categorisation based on Impacts ....................................................................................15 3.4.3 Description of Main Areas of Influence ...................................................................................15 3.4.3.1 Ranni Perunad Panchayat........................................................................................ 15 3.4.3.2 Erumely Panchayat .................................................................................................. 18 3.4.3.3 Vandiperiyar and Kumily Panchayats...................................................................... 21 3.4.4 Critically Affected Environmental Components.......................................................................25 4. PRIORITISATION OF REQUIREMENTS AND PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS ....30 4.1 Development Vision ...............................................................................................................30 4.2 Issue Prioritisation.................................................................................................................30 4.3 Suggested Interventions in the Planning Regions ...............................................................30 4.3.1 Phase 1 (2006 – 2010) Interventions .......................................................................................31 4.3.2 Phase 2 (2015– 2050) Interventions ........................................................................................45 4.4 Guidelines for Facility Provision ..........................................................................................47 4.4.1 Development Guidelines for Proposed Base Camps................................................................47 4.4.2 Development Guidelines for Other Areas ................................................................................47 4.4.3 Environmental Protection and Enhancement...........................................................................48 4.4.4 General Guidelines for all Base / Transit Camps ....................................................................49 4.4.5 General suggestions on the Typology of development and Institutional Structure ..................49 IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd Master Plan for Sabarimala Regional Module ANNEXURES ....................................................................................................................................i Annexure 1: Terms of Reference and Questionnaire for Pilgrim Perception Survey.................i Annexure 2: Results of the Comprehensive Perception Survey and Assessment of the Structure, Effectiveness and Needs of Development Related to Sabarimala. .............xiii Annexure 3: Environmental and Socio-Economic Scenario of the Host Region ...................xxxi Annexure 4: Database on the Impacts of the Pilgrimage in Panchayats of Planning Region 1lxiii List of Tables Table 1: Demarcation of Planning Regions .............................................................................................................5 Table 2: Details of some Important Halt Points enroute Sabarimala in Planning Regions 1and 2.......................11 Table 3: Critically Affected Environmental Components in Planning Region 1 ....................................................26 Table 4 : Impact of Pilgrim Movement and Issues Affecting Safe Pilgrimage .......................................................29 Table 5: Types of Interventions suggested in Each Panchayat in Planning Region 1 (2006 - 2015).....................31 Table 6: Detailed Interventions Proposed for Panchayats in Planning Region 1 (2006-2015).............................38 Table 7 : Suggested Interventions for Planning Region 2 and 3 (2006 - 2015) .....................................................45 Table 8 : Suggested Interventions for 2015 - 2050.................................................................................................46 Table 9 : Development Guidelines for Proposed Base Camps...............................................................................47 Table 10 : Development Guidelines for Other Areas .............................................................................................48 Table 11: Compiled List of Interventions and their Phasing……………………………………………………………57 List of Figures Figure 1: Methodology Adopted for Regional Study................................................................................................2 Figure 2: Main Regional Routes followed by the Pilgrims ......................................................................................4 Figure 3: Delineation of the Planning Regions........................................................................................................6 Figure 4: Sample Database on Extent and Impacts of the Pilgrimage in the Region ..............................................7 Figure 5: Desire Line Diagram of Regional Inflow to Sabarimala..........................................................................9 IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd Master Plan for Sabarimala Regional Module 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction and Relevance The pilgrimage to Sabarimala is one of the most significant religious phenomena of the contemporary period as it attracts several million pilgrims to its abode, during the peak pilgrim period, which lasts for two and a half months annually.Located in a mountainous tract of South Central Kerala, It is unique in its geographical characteristics as it attracts essentially, the population originating mainly from India’s four southern ‘Dravidian’ states and the Lord’s territory is strongly structured through a hierachicized network of sacred places where pilgrims pay obeisance during the journey. Its anthropological distinction is evident right through various ceremonies1 and practices during the pilgrimage, which transcends gender, domestic, and village territorialities. “On a sociological level, the promotion and diffusion of a message of equality through its openness to all levels of society and all religious affiliations, reinforces the unique character of this pilgrimage”2. In a geographical view point, the implications of the pilgrimage on the region explains, the links nurtured between the multifaceted phenomenon of religious travel (pilgrimage) and the reflexive notions of territoriality and territory. The distance and inaccessibility are geographical criteria, which reinforce the value and experience of the pilgrimage. Such places of veneration are all the more sacred that they are inaccessible, disconnected from the dominant flows, implying long distance travel in conditions which calls for physical strain. Since the fifties, the modernisation of the pilgrimage’s infrastructure has led to an increase of attendance,