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District Spatial Plan - Thrissur GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 157
Chapter – 13
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In this chapter, the development goals evolved idling of certain portion of potential work force of the
for District Spatial Plan and the development objec- district. The situation needs change through genera-
tives set to achieve the goals based on the findings of tion of more employment opportunities for the people
analysis are discussed. The development goals of Thrissur. Diversification of economic activity to the
emerged reflects the thrust areas where planning in- secondary and tertiary activity to create better job op-
tervention is required and the objectives clearly spell portunities with due regard to ways and measures to
out how the goals can be achieved in a real to ground increasing productivity, value addition, optimum utili-
scenario. zation of resource and scientific intervention in primary
sector may therefore be resorted to promote local eco-
13.1. DEVELOPMENT GOALS nomic growth.
The findings derived from the sector wise stud-
Even though there exists Urban-Rural continuum,
ies and settlement studies evolve following facts:
the activity pattern evolved based on the land use con-
The Thrissur – Kochi corridor exhibits spatial con- centration pattern, future urban profile and functional
centration of secondary as well as tertiary activities and classification shows that there is a clear demarcation of
is developing into a vibrant region of development areas of concentration of urban activity, agricultural
which acts as a major generator of economic momen- activity, agriculture and allied activity and agriculture
tum. Analysis reveal that Thrissur district has potential activity non detrimental to forests in the district, mak-
for rural activities whereas it ranks 6th with respect to ing it possible to assign definite development charac-
urban content among the districts in the state indicat- ter to each region. This has to be viewed as a potential
ing the strength of the district in the case of urban ac- for the overall development of the district.
tivities as well. At the same time primary sector too has
The district is blessed with potential resources
a considerable role in the district’s economy with nearly
such as tourism potential spots, minerals, lengthy
25% of the total area of the district under agricultural
coastal stretch with potential for fishing, number of
land use. Most of the agricultural areas are concentrated
religious centres with archaeological & historic impor-
in the mid land and high land regions of the district.
tance, presence of world famous pilgrim centre
Also the general character of settlements shows that
‘Guruvayoor’, four major river basins and connected
most of them are rural in nature, indicating that there
drainage network covering entire district. The analysis
is scope for developing the agriculture sector as one of
of the secondary sector reveals the potential for clay
the economic bases of the District.
based industries, diamond & gold based industries, agro
Work participation rate of the district (32%) equals based industries, handloom industries, book making
that of the state. At the same time it is well below the industries and wood based industries with in the dis-
desirable WPR of a developed economy. This indicates trict. Co-ordination and inter linkage between few key
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala

2. 158 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES District Spatial Plan - Thrissur
thrust areas is essential to have a sustained develop- To attain balanced development through
ment. equitable spatial distribution of facilities.
Thrissur district having many higher level educa- To conserve cultural and heritage fabrics of
tional institutions and health facilities caters not only the district so as to sustain the status of
the District but a wider influence region. Thrissur cultural capital of the State.
Municpal Corporation acts as the first order settlement To attain Ecological conservation and
in the district serving the entire district. Further there environmental protection.
are some centers of economic development to cater
second order functions in the other parts of the district
as well. Provision of equitable distribution of facilities 13.2. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
(physical & social) in a planned manner and planned In order to achieve the development goals set
connectivity to ensure speed & safe commutation for above, development objectives have to be set through
the entire population of the district is a concern. synthesis of the findings evolved from the sectoral and
The analysis of environmental sector shows the settlement analysis and general planning parameters.
need for protection of major ecological and environ- Developing Thrissur district as an eco-friendly and
mental sensitive areas of the district namely the re- economically vibrant region in the state is one of the
serve forest areas in the eastern high land region and development goal of District Spatial Plan Thrissur.
the ‘kole lands’ in between low land and mid land re- Thrissur district contributes 9.87 % of the GDP of the
gions of the district. The coastal belt of the district is state and is ranked third in the state in this respect. As
also another area of environmental concern. per Economic Review-2009, during the period 2008-09
Another aspect of concern is that Thrissur Dis- (at constant price of 1999-2000), 62.58 % of the GDP of
trict with its rich history, heritage and cultural, religious the district is contributed by tertiary sector and is ranked
and archaeological wealth, acts as the cultural capital third in the state. Whereas the contribution of second-
of the state and this status need to be sustained through ary sector is also comparatively high with 25.02% and is
concerted efforts. ranked third in the state. Thrissur district, with per capita
income of Rs 42316/- ranks fourth among districts of the
THUS THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR THE state and shows second highest growth rate in this re-
DISTRICT SPATIAL PLAN ARE, gard. All the above points to the potential of the dis-
To Develop Thrissur district as an eco-friendly trict in developing into a vibrant region of economic
and economically vibrant region in the state development in the state. As stated earlier, the Thrissur
To utilize resources for economic – Kochi corridor exhibits spatial concentration of sec-
development with social justice in a ondary as well as tertiary activities and is developing
sustainable manner. into a vibrant region of development which acts as a
major generator of economic momentum. Measures
To Enhance and ensure local economic growth
for providing impetus to development of this region
and to create better opportunities to the
are required.
people.
The analysis of the occupational structure of the
To attain a certain level of self-sufficiency in
district points to a disturbing situation about the eco-
production (primary and secondary) sectors.
nomic base of the district. The number of workers in
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala

3. District Spatial Plan - Thrissur GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 159
primary sector of production namely cultivators and that agricultural development is still having a potential
agricultural labourers show declining trend. Among the in the district.
total workers only 17% of workers constitute agricul- The population growth rate pattern among LSGs of
ture laborers and cultivators, indicating decline in agri- the District shows that growth rate is highest in those
culture activity and in turn the rural nature of the Dis- LSGs adjacent to Thrissur Municipal Corporation and
trict. The occupational structure of the district shows other Municipal Councils. It can be presumed that
that more than 75% of the total workers engage in non migrants to the district prefer to live in the periphery
agricultural pursuits. Even in rural areas of the district, of urban areas rather than within. If this tendency is
more than 50% of workers belong to non primary sec- continued, it will result in the undesirable spread of
tors, mainly service or tertiary sector. Number of work- urban areas and conversion of agricultural land in rural
ers in service sector is on the increase. Number of in- areas for residential and other nonagricultural purposes
dustrial workers shows a slight increase. It is observed resulting in the destruction of the economic base of
that rural areas of the district are slowly withdrawing rural areas. Thrissur District shows even more level of
from primary sector and depends more on service sec- urbanization when compared to the State average. And
tor and on industrial sector to a certain extent. Thus a also, the level of urbanization shows an increasing
shift (mainly towards service sector and slightly to sec- trend within the District pointing out the fact that
ondary sector) in the occupational structure of the dis- significant change in the urban profile of the district.
trict (even in rural areas) resulting in the possible de- In brief, there is need to ensure appropriate forward
struction of the rural character of rural areas is taking and backward linkages i. between urban areas of the
place. There is dilution in the rural nature of the rural district and its rural hinter lands and ii. between
areas of the district as far as the occupational structure primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of production
is considered. At the same time industrial activity in so as revitalize the urban as well as rural areas of the
the urban areas is also on the decrease and the share of district to enhance socio-economic growth. This
other workers category in the work force is increasing. necessitates planned intervention, such that selective
This has resulted in narrowing down of the boundary concentration of urban and rural economic activities is
distinguishing the character of rural and urban areas in made possible in the district in designated spatial
terms occupational structure. Besides, the rate of in- regions.
crease in number of main workers shows a decreasing The analysis clearly bring out the fact that the district
trend within the district indicating disturbing picture is blessed with its rich cultural resources, heritage value,
about employment generation, resource utilization and art institutions, religious monuments etc… which in fact
economic base which in turn point to low economic played a crucial role in the evolution of the district as
growth. ‘cultural capital’ of the state. The analysis also shows
that In addition to its traditional status of cultural
Comparing industrial and commercial land uses, it
capital; at present Thrissur District also act as an
is seen that land under commercial use is higher,
educational and health hub. But the serious efforts
indicating domination of tertiary sector over secondary
towards effective and sustainable utilization of the
sector. Also, in 2008-2009, 62.58 % of NSDP of the district
above mentioned cultural and heritage resources are
is from tertiary sector compared to 25.02% from the
not emerged out from the analysis. Hence any planning
secondary sector, supporting the same. Another
attempt should address the conservation and effective
important aspect to be noted that 25 % of total area of
utilization of these cultural and heritage fabric of the
the district is still under agricultural use. This indicates
district. In this context, one should think of how these
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala

4. 160 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES District Spatial Plan - Thrissur
cultural and heritage fabric can be effectively utilized forests is showing positive trend, considering the
to enhance the tourism potential of the district. Thrissur pressures for revitalization of forest economy and
district has got potential to develop the tourism spots tourism there has to be definite conservation
in connection with eco tourism, adventure tourism, perspectives for this area. Obviously, the already
religious tourism and heritage tourism. disturbed ‘kole land’ areas, watershed based drainage
The district is endowed with abundant natural channels, etc... also needs to be conserved and
resources also. Mining activities especially of clay and whatever pollution generated in the urban centers
granite and black sand has got immense potential within needs to be brought down. The coastal stretch of the
the district; the potential areas are lower part of the district is another area of environmental concern.
mid land areas and lower part of the up land areas in MAJOR DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
the southern part of the district. Coastal belt is suitable
1. To take all possible measures for providing
for marine fishing. Areas surrounding the inland water
impetus to development of the Thrissur- Kochi
bodies in north-west and south-west regions of the
corridor as a generator of economic momentum.
district are found suitable for developing inland fishing
on a commercial basis. Forest area within the district 2. To selectively concentrate urban and rural
has got economic potential. Also it is one of the main economic activities and diversify the economic
environmentally sensitive areas of the district. base mainly through strengthening production
From the study of existing hierarchy of settlements, sectors
it is seen that there is uneven distribution of higher 3. To attain a certain level of self-sufficiency in
order settlements. The existing pattern of higher order production (primary and secondary) sectors and
settlements do not follow the population distribution deliberate planning intervention in service
creating a distorted spatial structure. This necessitates sector so that service sector enhances the
reorganizing of the spatial structure of the district so as production sectors.
to arrive at a planned settlement hierarchy to attain 4. To develop the key sectors of development of
equitable distribution of facilities and balanced the district so that the integration of these
development. sectors can ensure and trigger the socio-
Although the district has fairly good network of economic development of the district.
roads, the existing connectivity pattern is not sufficient 5. To conserve the existing cultural and heritage
to distribute smoothly the movements of people, fabrics of the district in a planned manner and to
goods and services. The future requirements in this utilize them effectively and sustainably for
connection shall also be taken into account. Therefore developing tourism sector.
it is essential to develop a proper road network based 6. To achieve equitable spatial distribution of
on spatial structure of the district. facilities through a network of regional/sub
The analysis of environmental sector shows the regional and service centers which are linked to
concentration ecological and environmental sensitive the service region through rational
areas of the district mainly in two areas; the reserve transportation network
forest area in the eastern high land region and the ‘kole 7. To conserve the ecologically sensitive areas and
lands’ in between low land and mid land regions of the to minimize environmental pollution so as to
district. Even though the ecological conservation of ensure sustainable development.
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
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