Surat Citizens’ Council Seeks Integrated Plan for Tapi, Creeks

SURAT: Surat’s flood-management strategy needs to move beyond simply holding back water and instead focus on understanding, accommodating and managing it, the Surat Citizens’ Council (SCC) has said, proposing a science-based resilience plan for the Tapi River, creeks, drainage network and coastline.

The council has urged the administration to adopt a collaborative approach combining flood-risk reduction, ecological restoration, water conservation, climate adaptation, responsible urban development and eco-tourism.

“Flood management should not simply mean holding water back. It should mean understanding, accommodating and managing water intelligently,” the SCC said.

To support the initiative, the council has formed a multidisciplinary expert team comprising civil engineers, urban planners, geologists, disaster-management experts, environmental specialists, architects, landscape designers and hydrogeologists.

The team includes Dr Pankaj Gandhi, a civil engineer and urban planner whose research focuses on Surat floods; geologist and disaster-management expert G K Bhatt; environmental activist and advocate Krishnakant Chauhan; flood-mapping specialist Tejas Joshi; architect and watershed researcher Falguni Desai; and other experts including Urvish Bhatt, Avinash, Sugeet Pathakji and Juzer Nalwala.

The SCC said the team is ready to work with government authorities, academic institutions, technical agencies and citizens to develop a comprehensive River–Creek–Shoreline Resilience Master Plan.

“The goal is to create a scientifically robust and climate-ready framework that can make Surat a national model for sustainable urban resilience,” the council said.

The proposed framework would bring engineering, environmental science, hydrogeology, urban planning, landscape design and citizen participation onto a common platform to prepare Surat for growing flood and climate risks.