With the ending of the extended period for submission of suggestions and objections towards NMMC’s 20-year draft development plan (DP for 2018-2038) for the city on October 31, the civic body has received more than 15, 000 suggestions and objections from the citizens.
Most of the suggestions mention the need for ensuring basic civic amenities which are lacking due to the swelling population. Many people have demanded adequate space to make the city more livable.
Now, the NMMC will soon conduct hearings on the suggestions and objections received and prepare the final draft to be submitted to the state government for further approval.
An official said, “We have received as many as 15, 261 suggestions and objections from residents. They relate to social amenities besides a provision for auto and taxi stands, roadside vendors and hawkers, daily and weekly markets etc.”
For the first time after the inception of the civic body, NMMC had published its draft DP for the city’s further development, inviting citizens to suggest their views. The draft DP has been prepared considering the population of the city to be around 28 lakh by 2038. There is a need to upgrade infrastructure and other amenities to meet the increasing demand. The initial DP prepared by CIDCO dates back to 1979 based on which the city was developed.
An NMMC official said, “We will soon start classifying the objections and suggestions before conducting hearings in phases.” According to sources, the number of suggestions outclassed the volume of objections. As per the 2011 census, the population of the city was 11.2 lakh and by 2018, it reached 15 lakhs, with an increase of around 50,000 every year.
Since Navi Mumbai is a planned city, there is very little scope for further development and even in DP, the civic body admitted that the city is developed up to 95%, with only 5% vacant land available for future development.
“Instead of creating more concrete jungles, we need to create urban forests. We need to create more such projects on Parsik Hills and other areas such as Vashi, Nerul Sanpada, Airoli and in the MIDC industrial belt,” said activist B N Kumar in his suggestion to NMMC.
