Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Why outsiders prefer to shift to Navi Mumbai?' that was published in Newsband

Why outsiders prefer to shift to Navi Mumbai?

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai is supposed to be a well-planned city. The credit for this should go to City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). No other city in India is so well planned as Navi Mumbai.

CIDCO has undoubtedly made an attempt to come up with a city which is eco-friendly with advanced infrastructures and suitable for residents, commerce and industries. That is the reason why people migrate to this city either to have their residences here or pursue business or build industries.

Navi Mumbai has a future. It shouldn’t be surprising if it manages to provide more job opportunities than Mumbai in the near future.

When initially CIDCO had constructed the city, everything was fine because CIDCO had built the city by considering the population that existed at the time of planning the city. Little did CIDCO authorities know that in a short time the population of Navi Mumbai would rise considerably. Rise in population was accompanied by other problems like increase in vehicular traffic which further gave birth to parking problems.

It was not enough for CIDCO to come up with an advanced city. While planning it should have visualized as to how it would maintain the city in the future. CIDCO authorities are finding that the city faces problems galore today and they are not just able to control the current situation in which the city finds itself. The roads are found to be full of potholes, there is lack of enough parking spaces, all types of crimes are on the rise, many buildings constructed by CIDCO are found to be in dilapidated condition and residents of these buildings find it risky to reside in such structures and so on. Also the population has risen to such an extent that it is not possible to provide even the basic amenities to all the residents.

It is not that CIDCO is sitting quiet over all these problems. In spite of these drawbacks, CIDCO is making valiant efforts to improve transportation facility by planning monorails, underground parking and other facilities in the city. It is also trying to come up with wide roads, more schools and gardens, better sewage systems, proper solid waste management system etc. Even the traffic department is doing its best to control the traffic system by coming up with proper traffic management plans. CIDCO is also trying to exploit the city’s vast coastline by developing a water transport system. CIDCO is also giving priority to infrastructures, jobs, economy, housing, recreation and other factors which are bound to give a lot of relief to city residents.

When the projects like Navi Mumbai International Airport, metro rail and Trans Harbour Link becomes reality they will give tremendous boost to the image of the city. CIDCO along with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and with the cooperation of both State and Central Government are working hard to make these projects viable at the earliest.

There are many skywalks constructed in the city which has given relief to both vehicular traffic as well as the pedestrians. But there is need of more such skywalks. It is true that Navi Mumbai has many attractive places like Central Park, Golf Course, Wonders Park etc. But these do not seem to be enough. The city is in need of more such places to do justice to all the city residents who have multiplied considerably in the last few years.

In spite of all the major problems faced by the city it is still found to be a ideal place to shift to by the people of neighbouring places like Mumbai, Thane and Raigad District simply because it is obvious that Navi Mumbai has a great future. The problems will continue to be there but the major problems are bound to get solved by both CIDCO and NMMC authorities in the years to come. This is evident by the tremendous efforts that both these organizations are putting in to make Navi Mumbai a city really worth living in.