KOCHI: The digital mapping system, which will track the buildings, individual properties, greenery, drains, canals, street lights and the population, will help Kochi in making a big advancement in urban planning and execution of projects, according to town planners. To make this tracking possible, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based mapping of Kochi on various components is being carried out by various stakeholders, including Kochi Corporation and Cochin Smart City Mission Ltd (CSML).
The GIS-based mapping conducted in four different levels can be integrated in future which will help in efficient urban planning, disaster management, accident analysis and innovative methods for transport management. The mapping helps in getting the exact location of the object while the attribute data under GIS gives additional details. For instance, the location of a particular apartment is the spatial data while the number of residents, occupancy rate and related data would make up the attribute data.
According to Kochi Corporation authorities, the GIS mapping for Kochi City under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is being carried out by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). “Kochi is one among the 500 Indian cities selected under AMRUT. As per AMRUT guidelines, it is mandatory to develop GIS-based maps and formulation of the master plan. The NRSC has already completed the satellite maps and the ground truthing is progressing. Under, ground truthing, the areas covered with trees and vegetation which cannot be captured from above will be mapped,” said an official with CSML.
The CSML, which is implementing the Smart City Mission project for Kochi, will also prepare a GIS mapping of West Kochi and Central Kochi, the two areas that fall under the scope of Mission projects. “The CSML project will mainly concentrate on the mapping of components in the project area. Currently, CSML has prepared a shapefile with eight-layer road and junctions, water body, building footprint, vegetation and trees, landmarks and ward boundaries.
The agency will also add the data for the Smart City area from NRSC maps,” said the officer. The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd will prepare a separate GIS-based map on transport infrastructure in the city. “The purpose of KMRL’s maps is to increase the efficiency of various transport services. The major purpose is to track the position of all the services. The maps will also help to identify traffic congestion, rerouting of services and creating alternative traffic diversion plans,” said the official.
The fourth level of GIS mapping will be carried out by Kochi Corporation in association with the district town planning office and CSML. In these maps, the focus will be on various buildings owned by the Corporation, the individual buildings and its occupants, details of each property and its ownership. The Corporation council has recently decided to entrust the GIS mapping with Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Ltd (ULCC), a government-approved agency. The estimated cost of the project is `5.29 crore.