Planned Navi Mumbai needs a brand new plan

Even as residents of the satellite city have been demanding a new development plan, the planners need to look into some aspects that will make Navi Mumbai a 21st-century city. Infrastructure, jobs/economy, housing and recreation are some factors that should not be neglected while planning the city, experts opine.

Creating more open spaces; providing sufficient parking options; widening arterial as well as interior roads; improving other civic facilities such as sewage, drainage systems; extending Palm Beach Road from Ghansoli to Airoli are some of the infrastructural development works that will give the city a makeover.
Other projects such as Navi Mumbai International Airport, metro, Nerul-Seawoods-Uran railway corridor will put the city on a global map.

Former chief planner of MMRDA and Vashi resident Kedarnath Ghorpade is of the opinion that the planners should be environmentally-conscious while ‘launching’ the city for the next 20-25 years

Developer and NMMC corporator Kishore Patkar feels that the roads in the city need to be widened, and the areas where there is no such possibility, elevated roads should be constructed. “Width of the roads must be increased to at least 15 metre. More skywalks should be constructed,” Patkar said.

After concentrating for almost two decades on industrial development for generation of jobs from ’70s to mid-’90s, Cidco, the original planners of the city, shifted its focus in the late ’90s towards the infotech industry. Today, Navi Mumbai has all the ingredients to attract infotech biggies from affordable office space to good supporting infrastructure to steady stream of manpower. Cidco’s efforts to set up a Software Technology Parks of India office in Navi Mumbai in 1999 turned the tide for the city, and led to setting up of thousands of new IT/ITES offices here.

The other major employers in Navi Mumbai are banking and insurance, retail and the hotel industry players. Thousands have found jobs at  APMC market and industrial areas of Thane-Belapur-Taloja. “With each passing year, Navi Mumbai is emerging as a self-sustaining city offering work and lifestyle far better than Mumbai,” said a senior official from the hotel industry. The rising housing industry gives a much-needed fillip to the city’s economical balance. However, the demand for extra FSI has elicited different responses. Some believe that redevelopment of dilapidated buildings with extra FSI of 2.5 is the only option for city’s future.

“While redeveloping any building, the developer will be in a position to construct extra apartments that will help accommodate more families. Also, it will solve the parking problem as more open space will be available in building compounds,” Patkar said.

Yet others believe that real estate developers are forcing change by emphasising on extra FSI issue. “In my opinion, there is no need of extra FSI as it will only increase corruption, and manipulation of funds. For example, in 1.5 FSI which is the current rate, a balcony is not included in it, but the same can be included if the buyer pays a premium to the developer. The demand for additional FSI is nothing but a way to ensure that one’s personal gains are fulfilled. This need to be corrected,” said activist Sandeep Thakur. A plan should be prepared by professionals since urban planning is a scientific subject and not an engineering subject, he added.

The most important factor that will change the opinion of people towards Navi Mumbai is lifestyle and recreation facilities. “While, we have enough recreation facilities such as Central Park, the Kharghar Golf Course, the Wonders Park,  planners could create mangrove gardens and amusement parks besides exploiting the long coastline by launching water-transport facility,” Patkar added.