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First mayor's vision fulfilled as MP

After 19 long years, the new civic headquarters is a dream come true, says Sanjay Naik.

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It is a dream come true for Navi Mumbai's first mayor and now Thane MP Sanjeev Naik, who has been waiting for 19 years to have his dream of a swanky Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) head office realised.

Speaking to dna of navi mumbai, MP Naik said, "It was way back in 1995 that I first started searching for a place for new head office. The only thing in mind then was that the place has to be centrally located and we had seen offices of other municipal corporations like Mumbai that are housed within historic structures by the Britishers." MP Naik added, "Our priority was to have a building, which is a combination of 19th or 20th century structures and also bear the elements of the 21st century. What you are seeing is a building which has got a AAA rating."

On the challenges faced during the construction of this iconic building, MP Naik, says, "There were a host of issues, ranging from allotment of a proper space to fighting out some legal tangles to get this piece of marvel. Cidco was not ready to part with the land and the allotted plot where Satra mall stands today. It was supposed to be two blue buildings with office capsule of 10x15 and a toilet for 200 officers. I was personally not impressed with the place at all, but the then commissioner decided to go ahead with the purchase. I also had discussions with guardian minister Ganesh Naik on the matter."

The Thane MP said, "Later in 2000, I asked for a plot in Nerul on Palm Beach Road. My focus from the very first day was to have the civic building on the Palm Beach Road. However, things did not move further and till 2004, things were not clear as to which plot will be given for the construction of the NMMC building. We took up the matter with Sharad Pawar and I told him that if Cidco does not allot the plot to us, I will have no option but to resort to a hunger strike. A meeting was then scheduled at Sahyadri guest house and Cidco MD Anilkumar Lakhina allotted this plot to us. There was no water here then. Actually, some engineering firm had dug up the place, leading to the accumulation of water."

Naik said, "The building is a combination of the Parliament House and the dome structure resembling the one adorning the Rashtrapati Bhavan was supposed to be completed by 2007, but got delayed after some leaders lodged complaints in 2005. German technology has been used for constructing this green building. I, along with our architects, visited the UK and Germany to understand how we can have a green building technology here and for this I have spent from my own pocket, not NMMC."

He said, "The building has been planned keeping a futuristic approach for next 200 years and it's a low maintenance building."

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