Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme For Small And Medium Towns City Development Plan 2031 Kolhapur Industrial Hub, Tourist Attraction, Robust Infrastructure, Knowledge industry The Destination: KOLHAPUR I am heartened to know that Kolhapur has developed a firm vision for its future in the form of the City Development Plan. Kolhapur occupies a cherished position in the state of Maharashtra, be it in the field of agriculture, arts or industry. From ancient times it has made valuable contributions to Marathi culture and indeed to the Indian society, especially in the areas of Marathi film industry, food, religion and literature. It is a continuous endeavor of the State Government of Maharashtra to ensure that all its citizens have access to basic infrastructure, a better standard of life and proper opportunities to earn their livelihood. The schemes of Central Government like JNNURM and UIDSSMT provide the tools to support this vision for Maharashtra. Kolhapur has utilized the opportunity provided by UIDSSMT by defining a systematic vision and action plan to upgrade Kolhapur’s urban infrastructure and administrative machinery. The process of preparing the City Development Plan ensured that all the stakeholders of the city had a say in defining the vision. The City Development Plan envisages the future status of Kolhapur as a hub for industries – engineering, IT and agro based, famous as a tourist location with efficient urban services. I commend and congratulate the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation and the citizens of Kolhapur for contributing to this significant step towards development of Kolhapur. I appeal to other cities and towns in Maharashtra to follow the example set by Kolhapur and plan for their own development. I wish all the best to Kolhapur for implementing and getting the fruits of this City Development Plan. Vilasrao Deshmukh Chief Minister Maharashtra Located at the gateway of Konkan, Kolhapur enjoys the status of a traditional, beautiful and economically developed city. It has always been treated as an important city in Maharashtra, indeed in India, especially in the areas of agriculture, industries and culture. Today when India is at the doorstep of attaining the status of an economic superpower, Kolhapur does not want to be left behind and actually intends to contribute to India’s economic development. To do this, the city’s basic foundation consisting of physical infrastructure, administrative framework and economic functions need to be strong. Kolhapur has developed a City Development Plan with this vision of strengthening its basic foundations. The plan has been derived from a comprehensive process involving inputs form technical experts, public representatives, citizens of Kolhapur and municipal administration. The Plan enables Kolhapur to access funds from Government of India and Government of Maharashtra under UIDSSMT. The result of the process if now brought together in the form of this plan, documenting the vision for the city and roadmap for achieving the vision. I congratulate the citizens of Kolhapur for contributing to the welfare of the coming generations. I appreciate the efforts of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation for facilitating the same. Jai Maharashtra Rajesh Tope Minister of State for Urban Development Maharashtra The city of Kolhapur, famously known as the Dakshin Kashi, has always been an important industrial as well as cultural hub. Situated on the banks of the river Panchganga, the city is archaeologically an important place in India, famous for the ancient and aesthetically beautiful temple of goddess Mahalaxmi. Being the headquarters of the Kolhapur district, it is recognised as an important religious and commercial centre of the region and is well-connected by road, rail and air The Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) provides an impetus to the development of Kolhapur’s burgeoning economy. As a requirement of the Scheme, the City Development Plan (CDP) has been prepared by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation in consultation with it’s citizens. The CDP outlines the vision for the growth of Kolhapur into “An hub for industries – engineering, IT and agro-based, famous as a tourist location with efficient urban services”. Besides, the Plan also identifies specific strategies and actions to realise this vision. I would like to commend the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation and the citizens of Kolhapur for jointly evolving this comprehensive and inspiring Plan for the city. I wish the Corporation all success in implementing this Plan and hope that the citizens of Kolhapur will wholeheartedly support the Corporation’s efforts in realising this great vision. Jai Maharashtra Harshavardhan Patil Guardian Minister Kolhapur I am very happy to inform the citizens of Kolhapur that the City Development Plan for Kolhapur city, with the horizon year of 2031 has been prepared under the able supervision of Municipal Commissioner of Kolhapur Shri Kunal Kumar. Kolhapur has always been in the forefront of development, be it economic, social or cultural. From centuries immemorial, Kolhapur has been known for its prosperity, tradition, arts and culture. It is now our duty to maintain the honourable position of our city for the future. As part of this intention of preparing the city to face the challenges of the future and to promise a better quality of life for our citizens, this City Development Plan has been prepared. It is the people’s vision for the city communicated in terms of planned investments in the city’s infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of the Corporation. The document has been prepared in close consultation with the citizens of the city. I am sure that the involvement of the citizens will bring to fore the real challenges of the city. I would like to congratulate Shri Kunal Kumar and his team and acknowledge their efforts in bringing out this comprehensive document. I am sure that in the coming years this document will guide the efforts of the corporation in the right direction. Jai Maharashtra Sou. Saee Ajit Kharade Mayor Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Famous as Dakshin Kashi, since ancient times, Kolhapur is a holy place in the state of Maharashtra. Located on the banks of the river Panchganga, with a population of about 4.85 lakhs, covering an area of 66.82 sq.kms, the city is an important religious and commercial centre of the region. Predominantly famous for the ancient and aesthetically beautiful Mahalaxmi temple, the manufacture of leather chappals and the sport of wrestling; the city has a strong engineering and agricultural industry, good connectivity and a conducive climate. The city has all the ingredients for emerging as an industrial hub as well as a tourism location. The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation, established in 1972 under the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation (BPMC) Act, 1949 is the local body responsible for providing basic civic amenities to the citizens and in improving the economic and social infrastructure of the city. The Corporation, with good support from its officials, elected representatives and citizens, has always been in the forefront of accepting and implementing various contemporary ideas and developmental works. The Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), launched by the Government of India in FY 2005-2006, provides an opportunity to the city of Kolhapur to close the widening gap between existing and desired levels of service delivery. The scheme will ensure improvement and augmentation of service delivery, economic infrastructure, social infrastructure, governance and financial sustainability. The City Development Plan (CDP) has been prepared by the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation as a step to access the funds under UIDSSMT. It is the Corporation’s strategy that presents the vision for the city, the actions to achieve the same, the financial sustainability of the Corporation and the investments needed for achieving the vision. The CDP prepared by the Corporation with the continuous involvement of the citizens paves the way for achieving the vision of making Kolhapur the “Hub for industries and Tourism Destination with efficient urban services”. The CDP has been developed in close consultation with KMC officials, business groups, industry associations, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, NGOs, CII, companies from IT sector milk association, temple committee and citizens at large. The city has potential to become a hub for the knowledge industry. The Hon’ble Chief Minister of the State has already declared Kolhapur as the next IT destination of the state. The city offers a supportive investment climate for the IT industries. Besides, IT, agro processing industries, textile, gems and jewellery could be major drivers for the economy of the City in the coming future. The City is beckoning the future with great hopes and aspirations. It is indeed gratifying that the citizens have provided their continuous support and valuable time in the formulation of the CDP. I would sincerely like to acknowledge the efforts of all the citizens and the concerned staff of the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation. I am pleased to place the City Development Plan before the citizens of Kolhapur. Kunal Kumar, IAS Commissioner, Kolhapur Muncipal Corpoartion Kolhapur City Development Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 BACKGROUND 1 1.1 City Development Plan 1 1.2 Objectives of CDP 2 1.3 Kolhapur CDP Process 3 2 ABOUT KOLHAPUR CITY 4 2.1 Culture and Heritage 4 2.2 Location and Area