A new, planned satellite township will be built in Palghar. This will be the second such township after Navi Mumbai, the development of which started in the 1970s.The township will be developed on 337 hectares given to the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) in lieu of constructing the district headquarters, spending Rs 1,000 crore.
Cidco has been given 400 hectares, of which 70 hectares is prime sea-facing land. The 337 hectares, which can accommodate 35 Oval Maidans, is on the other side of the newly developed district HQ spread over 103 hectares.
“We have not been able to predict the market with the Covid pandemic. We have, therefore, invited expression of interest as we want to know what the market demands, understand the views of stakeholders, be it educational institutions, IT companies, large industrial houses, experts, scholars. Covid has changed how we shall live and we want to know what will be the right product mix for Palghar,” said Sanjay Mukherjee, MD, Cidco.
Mukherjee said the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the planning authority for the region, wants Palghar to be a residential township. With the terminal station for the Bullet train in BKC, the MMRDA proposes to shift its back office to Palghar so that its employees can live and work there and if required travel by the Bullet train to BKC.
The draft plan is ready and depending on the response Cidco may allow four to five master developers to build the township. If the response is not good, Cidco will build infrastructure and auction plots.
Mukherjee wants Palghar to be a walk-to-work place. Palghar city at present comprises its industrial area too. The Trans MIDC Industries Association (TMIA), which represents industries in the Thane-Navi Mumbai belt, said the notified industrial area must be excluded from the future civic body, the new Palghar city municipality.
“Municipal bodies have no role to play in industrial areas. MIDC is a statutory corporation, which is duty-bound to provide infrastructure and amenities in this area. The Maharashtra government has failed to respect the constitutional mandate that notified industrial areas are to be exclusive. Navi Mumbai and Panvel industrial areas have been included in municipal limits, resulting in double taxation, resulting in flight of industries to other states,” said Raja Bujle, chairman, legal, for TMIA.
