ASSIGNMENT

URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

STUDY OF MASTER PLAN OF MALAPPURAM

SUBMITTED BY
FAZIL .P

B160325CE

CIVIL A
 1. INTRODUCTION

MALAPPURAM

General Profile of the city

Fig.Block Panchayats in Malappuram District

Malappuram is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. The
first municipality in the district formed in 1969, Malappuram serves as the administrative
headquarters of Malappuram district. Divided into 40 electoral wards, the city has a
population density of 2,083 per square kilometre (5,390 per square mile). As per the 2011
census Malappuram Urban Agglomeration is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in Kerala
state. Malappuram is situated 54 km southeast of Calicut and 90 km northwest of Palghat.

Malappuram is situated in the mid land area of the state. As the name suggests, it is covered
with small mountains of lush greenery, bonded with several freshwater streams flowing
through the city. Kadalundi Puzha, a major river in Kerala is flowing around the city.
Malappuram is one of the few municipalities in the state with a tremendous track record of
keeping the city clean. The recognition as second 'best municipality in up keeping the
cleanliness and health by state government in 2011 and Second prize for Swachhata
Excellence Awards in 2019 by Government of India acknowledges these sincere efforts of
the municipality. Malappuram is the biggest potential nod of the district. Unlike other district
headquarters, Malappuram holds a significant position in west-east transit along with north-
south. It makes the city accessible for everyone in the district through either National
Highway or State Highway. The strategical location of the city is yet to be used in many
aspects.

Malappuram Municipality
 2. TRENDS AND ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT SECTOR

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, the city population is 101,330. Males constitute 49% of the
population and females 51%. Malappuram has a literacy rate of 96.47%, higher than the
national average of 74%: male literacy is 97.85%, and female literacy is
95.21%. Malappuram is also one of the million-plus UAs in India with a population of 1.6
million making it the 25th biggest and fourth biggest in the country and state respectively.
The major language spoken in the city is Malayalam. English is widely understood, while
Tamil and Arabic have considerable speakers. According to the 2011 census, the city
population is predominantly Muslim at 70.24%, along with a sizable Hindu population at
27.60% and small Christian population at 1.98%.

Economy

Malappuram district has moderate agriculture base and it is in 3rdposition at state level as per
the total areas brought under crops production. About 1,000 people are aided annually under
a self-employment programme. There are KINFRA food-processing and IT industrial
estates in Kakkancherry, Inkel SME Park at Panakkad for Small and Medium Industries and a
rubber plant and industrial estate in Payyanad. MALCOSPIN, the Malappuram Spinning
Mills Limited is one of the oldest industrial establishments in the district under state
Government. As of July 2013, Malappuram is the highest beneficiary in receiving donations
from migrants abroad among all the districts in Kerala.

Infrastructure

Availability of sufficient infrastructure facility is one of the most important determinants of

industrial development. Faster industrialization of any area is largely depends on availability
of strong infrastructure base. As regards the availability of infrastructure, the city has well-
developed and good infrastructure networks which are conducive for industrial development.
This positive aspect has favoured the city to be one of the most favourable investment
destinations in the state. Strengthening of existing infrastructure base will further enhance
investment attractiveness of this region and will give a much needed impetus for the
development of the district.

Existing situations and Problems

 Most Populated district.

 Attract many settlements because of the hospitable nature of the land and its people.
 Harmonious coexistence of people belonging to different faiths, in spite of the
venomous propaganda by vested interests.
  The districts health index has kept abreast of the rest of the State, but more cases of
lifestyle diseases are being reported in tune with the spike in wayside eateries that
offer exotic meat dishes, Arabian dishes etc.
 Central town is not connected with Rail network.
 Recent flood affected severely the city core Kottakkunnu. Kottakkunnu, a hilly fragile
area in Malappuram, which had witnessed widespread destruction in the heavy rains
and series of landslides.
 Last two years, during monsoon the city entirely submerged under water.
 Another issue is regarding the land acquisition for the widening of NH66. Massive
protests are still active in the city of Malappuram.
 Malappuram has a very slow pace of industrialization. The district rank 12th in the
matter of industrial development in the state and the contribution of the district
towards the industrial development of the state are very meagre.

Flood in Malappuram Town Landslide in Kottakkunu

3. LAND USE PLAN

Total area of the district is 3551.87 Sq.km. The breakup of land use of the District
with its percentage to total area of the District is shown in Table. The highest
percentage of land use falls under the category Residential / Agricultural mix, which
include mainly dry cultivation lands wherein residential developments are co-existent.
The district consists of 252.27 sq km of pucca agricultural land and 18.14 sq km of
land under intense residential land use. Water bodies and forest also has a significant
share (57.05 and 643.13sq km respectively) in the land use of the district. From the
analysis of land use of the district it is clear that the major portion of the total land
area of the District is coming under three major uses– Residential / Agricultural mix
(60.79%), forest land (18.11 %) and agriculture (7.10%). The land use analysis shows
that the district has potential resources such as agricultural land and forest.

Land use breakup of Malappuram District

3.1.CONCENTRATION PATTERN OF LAND USE

The concentration pattern of a land use gives an idea about where that particular land
use is concentrated within the district. The Land use concentration Index can be used
to identify the concentration pattern of a land use within an area. The regional land
use study shows a general observation that Malappuram stand in the second or third
position with respect to surrounding districts in the case of urban components of land
use (residential, mixed built up, resi/agri mix etc., other built up etc.). In case of rural
components of land use (Agriculture, plantation etc.), Malappuram stand in the third
position.
 3.1.1 Agricultural Land Use

The Agricultural land use consists of Cashew/ orange/ pepper/pineapple, Viruppu

(1st Crop)/ Mundakan, Land without scrub, Double Crop/Triple crop, Agriculture
farm, Agriculture farm (Orchids)/and Mixed trees categories of land use as
demarcated in the land use map generated out of NREDB. The concentration
pattern of agricultural land use shows that agricultural area of the district is mainly
concentrated in the central, and some of the up land regions of the district. The
pattern also reveals that agricultural land use is also influenced by the location of
water bodies.

3.1.2. Forest Land Use

Forest Land use contains land use categories of Dense Mixed Forest, Dense
Mixed Forest (R.F)/Forest Blank, Dense mixed forest mainly bamboo, Dense
mixed forest mainly bamboo & teak (R.F), Dense mixed forest mainly bamboo
(R.F), Dense mixed forest mainly teak or cashew, Bamboo (R.F), Barren Rocky/
Stone waste/ sheet rock (RF), Open mixed forest/Open mixed forest (RF), Scrub
forest, Degraded grass land (RF), Dense mixed forest mainly rubber,
Underutilized / degraded notified forest and Dense Grassland/ Degraded grass
land.

3.1.3. Residential Land Use

The concentration pattern of Residential land use shows (Figure) that the
concentration of the Residential land Use in urban LSGs and in those LSGs along
the major transport corridors(Road and Railways) are higher than that in other
LSGs.

3.1.4. Residential / Agriculture Mixed Land Use

Resi/Agri mixed land use consists of land use categories of Arecanut, Banana,
Banana & Tapioca, Coconut/ coconut & Arecanut/coconut & tapioca, Coconut
dominant mixed crop, Current fallow, Mixed Crop, Rubber, Mixed and Tapioca as
per the land use data of NREDB. The concentration pattern of Resi/ Agri land use
is shown in Fig.. From the figure it is observed that Resi / Agri area concentrated
in almost all LSGs of district except in a few LSGs. The pattern also reveals that
the concentration of Res/Agri land use is mainly in and around the urban centers
and main transport corridors of the district.
Agricultural Land Use Forest Land Use

Residential Land Use Res/Agri Mix Land Use

 4. PROPOSAL OR SOLUTIONS

4.1 HEIRARCHY OF SETTLEMENT

Proposed Hierarchy of settlements –Malappuram District

The higher order settlements also show a trend of following the transport corridor. No new
second order settlements are proposed. The south east quadrant is devoid of a higher order
settlement mainly due to the concentration of plantations in this area.
4.2.PROPOSED ROAD NETWORK

Physiographically, the district has distinct high land on the eastern side, a mid land
region and a coastal strip on the west. This makes the connectivity in eastwest
direction difficult. However, even with these limitations, a few roads are running in
the east west direction (Tirur Manjeri State High way, Calicut. ilambur Gudallore
road, Valancheri Perintalmanna road, Parappanangadi Malappuram road, Kottakkal
Perintalmanna road etc). As a result the north south corridor which is very strong
elsewhere in the state with National Highway and Railway running in this direction
does not get a primacy. Most of these roads are existing unimportant roads which
have to be up graded as per the proposal.

4.3.FORMULATION OF SPATIAL STRUCTURE

Overlaying the activity pattern, hierarchy of settlements and road network gives an
idea of the spatial structure of the district. The plantation and forest resources are
concentrated in the eastern highland region. In the west, the coastal strip is segregated
from the rest of the district by railway line running in north south direction. This is a
constraint on connectivity. The economic activities, various land uses, workers and
people are almost evenly distributed in the rest of the district. The urban nodes are
also evenly distributed showing a dispersed urban growth. The transport network
(well developed) is in the form of a hub and spoke with an outer ring strengthening
this nature of growth. Manjeri, Malappuram and Valluvambram junctions come in the
vertices of a triangle which forms the hub. The spokes are approximately in the north,
south, east and west directions. Higher order settlements (other than Manjeri and
Malappuram) are placed mostly at junctions where these hubs intersect the outer ring.
So the district has a sound spatial structure which needs only a few improvements
(like standards of roads, alignment changes etc) by conscious efforts.
5. CRITICAL REVIEW
Malappuram District shows even a lesser level of urbanization when compared to
the State average. The percentage of urban population in the district is somewhat
steady in the past two decades. It indicates that the increase in the urban
population only by natural growth and the migration from the rural areas is only
marginal. Malappuram is one of the least urbanized districts in the state, which
occupies twelfth place among the fourteen districts leaving only Idukki and
Wayanad districts behind it. Considering the criteria like existing urban areas,
census urban areas, grade of LSGs and hierarchy of settlements, the future urban
profile is derived. The number of urban centres in the district is expected to
become 22 by the year 2021.

The study of the occupational structure of the district shows that around 76 % of
the population are non workers. The district is having the lowest rate of work
participation in the state. With respect to number of workers, there is a drastic
decline in the primary sector, mainly agriculture. The only sector which shows
growth is the service sector. It is observed that the rural areas of the district is also
slowly withdrawing from the primary sector and have started depending more on
the service sector.

The district is blessed with land and other natural resources. In most of the LSGs
there is a high concentration of agriculture land use. The land use analysis shows
that urban development has taken place mostly along the major transport
corridors. This indicates the necessity of proper planning intervention in order to
avoid haphazard growth.

The study of the functional character of settlements show that out of the 107
settlements 68 are rural, 29 are semi rural, 6 are semi urban and 4 are urban. This
shows the comparatively lower level of urbanisation of the district.

In the suggested hierarchy of settlements, there is one first order settlement, 4

second order settlements and third order settlements in the District. The first order
settlement, Perinthalmanna is urban in nature. Malappuram Municipality, though
the headquarters of the district, belongs to the second order group, followed by the
other three municipal towns in the district, viz. Manjeri, Tirur and Ponnani. Of the
nine third order settlements Kottakkal and Nilambur have attained urban status
recently; Angadippuram, Kondotty and Valanchery are expected to attain urban
status by 2011 and Thenhippalam, Tirurangadi, Areekode and Wandoor in 2021
respectively.

The District shows a lesser level of urbanization when compared to the State
average. The percentage of urban population in the district is somewhat steady in
the past two decades. It indicates that the increase in the urban population is only
by natural growth and the migration from the rural areas is only marginal.
Malappuram is one of the least urbanized districts in the state, which occupies
twelfth place among the fourteen districts leaving only Idukki and Wayanad
districts behind it.

The district is well connected to other parts of the state by road, rail and air; the
share of water transport is negligible compared to other modes of transport. The
future regional road net work is proposed taking into consideration the hierarchy
of settlements, hierarchy of nodes and existing linkages. For this a conceptual road
network is formed by connecting the higher order settlements to higher order
nodes (shown in Fig 11.2). This is compared with the existing road network to
identify the missing links. From the study it is seen that majority of these
connections are existing roads, though some of them need strengthening or
modification to alignment.