Some Background on My Visit
During the February 2012 IECA conference in Las Vegas, I spoke with
C.R. Devaraj, President of IECA’s Indian Chapter. Devaraj is the Managing
Director of Charankattu Coir Mfg. Co. located in the state of Kerala in
southwestern India and he was attending the conference to promote his company’s
erosion control blankets made from local cocoanut and jute fibers.
I had one question for C.R. Devaraj:
“Were I to visit India this year, could you recommend any projects I
could see which are successfully employing erosion control techniques and
products?” He immediately replied, “Yes,
Lavasa.” He told me a bit about the
project and I looked at its website where I learned that Lavasa is a planned
community in the Western Ghats, a chain of low mountains east of Mumbai
(Bombay) and near the city of Pune.
C.R. Devaraj provided me with contact information for Lavasa and I
eventually secured an invitation to visit the community from Krunal Negandhi, Lavasa’s
Assistant VP for Projects (Environment).
I later learned that two IECA members had been directly involved with
the project. C.R. Devaraj had supplied
the erosion control products used at Lavasa -- the first time he had actually
provided products for an Indian project.
Also, Doug Wimble (Managing Director of Spraygrass in New South Wales,
Australia and the new President of IECA’s Region 2) had provided consulting
services for Lavasa’s erosion control efforts.
When I visited Lavasa in August 2012, Krunal Negandhi and his
associates bombarded me with a wealth of interesting information regarding the
philosophy behind the project, its objectives, progress to date, specific
erosion and sediment control measures, various other environmental measures,
and other important information about the community. They also took me for several site tours to
give me a first-hand look at the results of their efforts. It would take many pages to describe their
initiatives with regard to sustainable native vegetation, solid waste
management and recycling, sewage treatment, renewable energy, education, health
care, light industry using local materials (bamboo) and tourism. I’ll focus on erosion and sediment control
but first here is a summary of how Lavasa got started and what the project
hopes to achieve.
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Central pedestrian area in Lavasa with scores of condos and homes (most
under construction) in background.
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Krunal Negandhi, Lavasa's Assistant VP for Environment and a view of Warasgaon Lake on a foggy morning.
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Members of Lavasa’s environmental team pose in front of some of their
successful reclamation work. From left to right: Aalam Tamboli, Pramod Pokharkar, Sunil Habade, and Satish Killare Photo provided by Krunal Negandhi.
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A Very Brief History of Lavasa
In 1998, the government of India initiated a new Hill Station Policy to
encourage the development of planned communities accessible to, but separated
from, huge chaotic, unplanned, and relatively dysfunctional cities such as
Mumbai. The idea for Lavasa was conceived by Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, the Chairman
of Hindustan Construction Company. He
envisioned a community which would integrate living, working, and playing in
harmony with nature.
Construction of Lavasa started in 2002.
It is the first open (un-gated) community initiated under the Hill
Station Policy. It is also India’s first
city built and governed by a private corporation. The developers are trying to achieve
environmental sustainability based on principles of the UN Environmental
Program.
Lavasa has had its share of problems.
Construction was shut down for a time because clearances had not been
granted by all the necessary departments of the notorious Indian
bureaucracy. A July 2011 article in Atlantic Magazine criticized Lavasa for
constructing housing that is too expensive for the average Indian. True enough, but I was shown modest low-cost
apartments that are being provided for construction workers and other laborers. It seemed to me an improvement over
communities like Aspen and Vail, Colorado, USA where workers can’t afford local
housing and have to commute to work an hour or more from trailer parks or
crowded apartments where land is cheaper. Lavasa may not be perfect but they are trying
to provide an innovative model for future urban development in India. We’ll have to check back in a few years to
see how well they are succeeding.
Erosion and Sediment Control at
Lavasa
When work started at Lavasa in 2002, erosion and sedimentation had
significantly degraded the mountainous landscape where slash and burn
agriculture was the norm. Addressing
these problems had been integrated into the community master plan. For example, there would be no construction
on slopes greater than 1:3 (33% or 18.4o). Existing green cover would be preserved where
possible. Reforestation with indigenous
species was planned for steep, denuded slopes.
Measures would be introduced to raise the water table providing needed
moisture for re-vegetation efforts.
Vegetated buffer zones would be created or maintained around streams to
minimize sedimentation.
I saw a number of sites where these elements of the master plan have
been implemented. Following are examples
of some of the specific erosion and sediment control measures employed.
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This steep soil dump (fill) slope above the city center has been
transformed into a stable green carpet of trees and plants. Here’s how they accomplished it:
- First, they graded the slope into the undulating surface shown in the
above photos
- A jute bag toe wall was constructed at the base of the slope. The jute bags were filled with excavated
(reused) soil and wrapped with geo-mating.
- Cocoanut coir mats were anchored to the slope above the jute bag
wall.
- Vetiver (the tall grass in the photos) was planted at the base of the
slope and immediately above the jute bag wall. Vetiver is famous for its long
roots which counteract surface erosion.
It is unable to reproduce itself so it does not spread to areas where it
is not wanted.
- The hillside was hydroseeded with a mix containing paper mulch, wood
fiber, water, seed of indigenous species, and guar gum binder with rice husks. It was seeded right after the monsoon rains
started in the spring.
- Native trees were planted in scattered locations.
- A drip irrigation system was installed to help the plants and trees
survive and thrive through the four month winter dry season.
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Reclaimation work is underway on this hillside. Note the jute bag wall with jute netting
above on the steep hillside.
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Biodegradable
bamboo staples are used to anchor mats to the hillsides.
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Horizontal
PVC pipes with filter media extend 0.9 meters (about 3 feet) back into a jute
bag wall to permit ground water drainage.
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On hillsides, water absorbing trenches (WATs) (1 meter wide and 1 meter
deep) and continuous contour trenches (CCTs) (0.6 meters wide and 0.6 meters
deep) trap rain water and promote infiltration.
Each trench has a maximum length of 3 meters (about 10 feet). In areas where the trenches have been
excavated, groundwater levels are rising.
They also use CCTs that drain to natural swales.
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Artificial ponds and structures have been constructed along existing
drainages. These features reduce erosion
by slowing down storm water runoff. They
increase infiltration, retain some water in these intermittent streams during
the dry season, and enhance the aesthetic character of landscape.
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A gabion bandhara and loose boulder structure covered with wire mesh has
been constructed across an intermittent stream in the valley below a steep
hillside. Note the sediment which has
collected above the dam. Previously, the
sediment would have reached Warasgaon Lake in the valley bottom.
Lavasa’s “leisure trail” winds along a steep mountainside which was an
eroded, barren wasteland prior to reclamation four years ago and is now covered
by a dense and diverse young forest. The
pathway was constructed with soil jute bags wrapped with geo-mats and covered
with gravel. The path is “stepped” to
cut down on erosion.
Initially, the project team tended to rely on more traditional methods
for slope stabilization such as this gabion wall next to a street. In recent years, they have been switching to more
aesthetically-pleasing, environmentally-sustainable bioengineering techniques.
Bio-diversity enhancement: Approximately
600,000 indigenous trees and 700,000 stumps and shrubs have been planted. The aim is to create a diverse canopy
structure of trees, shrubs, and grasses.
Lavasa hires local people to do the planting by hand. Farm yard manure and local mulches are used. Some areas also require geo-mats or coir mats
depending on slope and other factors.
In the photo above, the left side of the stream is reforested Lavasa
property. The right side is owned by
local farmers and has been cleared (slash and burn) for grazing. The grazing land is green because the photo
was taken in the middle of the rainy season.
A close look reveals evidence of erosion on the recently grazed hillside.
Lavasa personnel are working with local farmers to steer them away from slash
and burn practices.
Lavasa has its own nursery where ornamental plants as well as native
species for reforestation and erosion control get their start. Photo
provided by Krunal Negandhi.
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