Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Navi Mumbai under CIDCO and NMMC' that was published in Newsband

Navi Mumbai under CIDCO and NMMC

By Dinesh Kamath

Pictures of CIDCO, NMMC, Vashi railway station complex, golf court at Kharghar

NAVI MUMBAI: The swanky Vashi Railway Station complex was the main attraction once upon a time. It is still attracting the visitors in the city but not like the past. 

In the past, the projects relating to clock tower project with a revolving restaurant and a library in the ground floor was discussed with the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). But the project did not take off. Similarly, a ropeway was also planned at Parsik Hills near Belapur. But the plan didn’t materialize.

But CIDCO did bring into existence certain things which became the City’s main attractions like the NRI residential complex at Sea Woods, the Palm Beach Marg built mainly to connect it with Vashi and the Highway, Belapur Railway Station complex, the short-lived hovercraft service to the Gateway and the planned development of Parsik Hills. CIDCO also came up with the Golf Course at Kharghar and a theme park at Nerul.

Even after introducing all the above attractions, there still remains the scope to add still more tourist spots in the city.

The authorities of Navi Mumbai are thinking of adding still more to the already existing tourist attractions. They want to develop marine tourism and tourist spots at Sulaidevi and Mumbadevi hills at Ghansoli, behind the erstwhile NOCIL complex. They also have planned to have public toilets, safety railings and benches at many places in the city.

Parsik Hills, in the past, consisted of wild life. Those days one could even find leopards roaming in areas like Turbhe Naka after sunset, obviously searching for a prey. Wild cats were also visible near Herdillia housing colony. Now one hardly gets to see such wild life here and this place is invaded by greedy quarry contractors who are making a mess of the hills.

The problems of Navi Mumbai become more severe especially during monsoon. When there is incessant downpour, one finds pot holes, craters and miles of traffic jams everywhere. These problems keep on recurring annually and hence it is high time for city authorities to find a permanent solution to these problems. The city authorities should not hesitate to take the advice of the experts in these matters and accordingly do the planning.

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation should also be lauded for introducing many tourist attractions in the city and also for trying its best to make the lives of the residents here very secure. Issuing of notice to housing societies to put up fire safety equipment is one such step taken by NMMC for safety of the residents. Its idea not to let the society get registered unless it is issued a fire safety certificate by the Fire Brigade is a brilliant one.

It is clear that CIDCO and NMMC are the two organizations which are very active in developing the city and introducing new reforms to make the lives of the city residents comfortable and safe.