2 decades on, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation yet to get own development plan

NAVI MUMBAI: Twenty-one years on, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is yet to have a development plan (DP) of its own. Instead, the satellite city follows City and Industrial Development Corporation's (CIDCO) plan. www.sevagiri.com "The civic body is the city's implementing authority. It should have its own DP. It is unfortunate that the NMMC does not have its own DP even after two decades," said a senior urban development (UD) official. He added that for any local body, DP is important as it helps in providing better facilities and controlling use of open plots for public welfare. Navi Mumbai was formed to control and ease the growing pressure of population on Mumbai. The satellite city, spread across 162.5 sq km, has been planned and developed by Cidco. In 1992, the NMMC was established and today, though the city has massive residential complexes, commercial establishments and educational institutes, but the corporation continues to follows Cidco's DP. According to UD official, a plan to formulate its own DP was mooted by the NNMC in 2007, but due to some technical glitches the plan never materialised. A senior NMMC official confirmed the development and said that plans are on to have its own DP. "If everything goes according to the plans, within a year, the civic body will have its DP plan," the NMMC official added. In fact, the civic body is thinking about roping in private consultants to draft the DP. "The work for framing DP is going on. Once the draft is ready, suggestion and objections from the citizens will be invited. After completing the administrative procedure, the plan will be forwarded to the UD department for its approval,"said Prakash Thakur, assistant director, town planning. NMMC commissioner Abasaheb Jarhad and mayor Sagar Naik were not available for comment. However, assistant director, town planning, Prakash Thakur said, "The work for framing the DP is going on. Once the draft is ready, suggestion and objections from the citizens will be invited. After completing the administrative procedure, the plan will be forwarded to the UD department for its approval." Meanwhile, experts have welcomed the NMMC decision to involve citizens in drafting the city's DP. "The civic body has already delayed the plan by two decades. Most of the plots have already been utilized. NMMC should expedite the process to formulate the DP without any further delay," said Ashok Korgaonkar, an urban development expert. Korgaonkar also said that having a DP will empower the civic body to mark open plots as recreation ground, playground or plots to be used for for any other activity that is in public interest. The difference: One Time Development Plan: It is long term planning for infrastructure projects and other major issues. DP: It is plan that is designed especially to cater services (open ground, recreation ground, auditoriums) to citizens.