Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (erstwhile: New Bombay) is a satellite twin of the city of Mumbai, India. It is the largest planned new city in the world,with an area of 344 km². It is a city of its own, Navi Mumbai lies on the mainland on the eastern seaboard of the Thane Creek. The city limits stretches from Airoli near Thane in the north, to Uran in the south. The length of the city is almost the same as Mumbai. The Vashi and Airoli Bridges connect New Bombay to Mumbai. The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will soon link South Bombay with New Bombay.
Planned City
Navi Mumbai was created in the 1970s to cater to the rising demand in real estate. CIDCO (stands for City and Industrial Development Corporation) is the semi-government authority whose sole purpose was to plan, develop and maintain the twonship of Navi Mumbai. Recently, in the late 1990s, CIDCO's maintenance responsibility was shifted over to a newly formed muncipal corporation - officially knowns as NMMC (stands for Navi Mumbai Muncipal Corporation). Since Mumbai was an island, development could only take place up to a certain limit. Navi Mumbai was carefully planned keeping in mind the population boom of the future,in fact it is the largest planned new city in the world. Navi Mumbai is organized as many Nodes. Some of the old and more populated nodes are Vashi, Nerul, Belapur. Some of the more recent Node developments include Kharghar, New Panvel.
A couple of recent developments include a 1.5 mile long bridge over the Thane creek between Airoli and Mulund - an eastern suburb of Mumbai city. Apart from the decades old Thane creek bridge connecting Mankhurd with Vashi, this is the only road connection between Mumbai and mainland India.
The New City Dawns
CIDCO was formed on 17th March, 1971 and was given the mandate of converting about 344 sq.km. of marshy land lying between village Dighe in Thane district and Kalundre village of Raigad district into a new city. It consisted of 150 km. creek line of the total 720 km. of the Konkan coast. The villagers under this area lived a calm life much different from the life in the neighbouring city of Mumbai (then called Bombay). CIDCO carved out 14 nodes - small townships - of the land with a view to facilitate comprehensive development and to give it an identity of new city. These nodes are named Airoli, Ghansoli, Kopar Khairane, Vashi, Sanpada, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Kalamboli, Jui Kamothe, New Panvel, Ulwe, Pushpak and Dronagiri.CIDCO acquired 19,394 Ha.land of which 14,105 Ha. was private land, including about 2,292 Ha. salt-pan land and 5,289 Ha. government land. By the year 2000 CIDCO had developed about 11,760 Ha. of land. Of this land 5,445 Ha. is saleable under various land uses. CIDCO has sold about 2,190 Ha leaving a balance land for sale about 3,258 Ha. under various land uses.
Physical Characteristics
Navi Mumbai spreads over parts of two districts of Maharashtra; Thane and Raigad. The region is hilly in some parts. Parts of the region are also protected wetlands. Unlike its bigger neighbour, the city is sparsely populated. Its coordinates are 73° E; 20° N.
Geography
Along east, there are small hills running in north-south direction. The lands forms part of Konkan Region. The narrow belt of land starts at Dighe in north and ends at Kalundre in south. It is 2560 ha. in area, 20 km long and about 2.0 km wide2.
Geology
The rock formation in the region are derived mainly from Deccan Basalt and also from granites, gneissus and laterite. The gently sloping coastal low lands are observed in patches and are covered with moderately shallow to deep soils, mostly lateritic in nature, sometimes oxidised to yellow marrum.
Topography
To part of Western Konkan coast is a narrow coastal strip along the western part of Sahyadris. It is bound on the East side by hillocks of 50-200 mtrs. height and on the west side by Thane creek.
Climate
This area has sub-tropical monsoonic climate of humid-perhumid to semiarid and subhumid type. Overall climate is equable with high rainfall days and very few days of extreme temperatures.
Temperature
The mean annual temperature ranges from 250C to 28oC. The mean maximum temperature of the hottest month in this area varies from 30oC - 33oC in April-May while mean minimum temperature of coldest month varies from 16oC to 20oC. Extremes of temperatures, like 38-39oC in summer and 11-14oC in winter, may be experienced for a day or two in respective season.
Rainfall
The rainy season is mostly confined to south-west monsoon with 80 percent of the rainfall received during June to October (60-70 days). This area, on an average, receives 2500 to 3500 mm rainfall.
Humidity
The area has marine humid-perhumid climate with more humidity and less diumal variations. Relative humidity varies from 41 to 97%. Driest days being in winter and wettert ones experienced in July.
Wind
Features such a presence of large water body (the creek), presence of hill ridges etc. influence the local wind patterns to some extent. No significant micro-climatic variation is noticeable in the region.
Soil
The soils of this region are highly saline in the vicinity of creeks and non-saline at other places. They are calcareous, neutral to alkaline in reaction (pH 7.5 to 8.5), clayey, with high amount of bases and have high water holding capacity (200-250 mm/m). The soils located on moderately sloping residual hills are lateritic in nature and show intensively leached surfaces. They are loamy and slight to moderately acidic (pH 5-6.5) with moderate base status (< 75%)
Land Use
The land was used to produce paddy during rainy season. Some mango and coconut orchards and limited vegetable cultivation was also practised by locals. Those with well-irrigation facility used to go for legumes like 'tur' and 'beans'. With urbanisation, however, all agriculture activities in Navi Mumbai have almost ceased to exist, except in easternmost part. Fish, crabs and prawns were common products from the creek, though the quantities of each were not significant. Surplus from domestic consumption was sold in Thane and Belapur markets. With advent of industries in the region, and with consequent deterioration of water quality, these markets were lost.
History
The region was part of the kingdom of Ashoka and then various Hindu rulers of the Silhara dynasty until 1343, when it was annexed by the kingdom of Gujarat. In 1534 the Portuguese took the region from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. It remained in their hands until 1661, when it ceded as the dowry of Catherine de Braganza to Charles II of England. He, in turn leased it to the British East India Company in 1668 for £10 per annum.
The region remained undeveloped until the 1970s when the real estate boom began.
People
Residents of this city often call themselves as Bombayites or Mumbaikars. However as their residence is out of the municipal limits of Bombay, they are technically incorrect. Most of the residents work in Mumbai. Since the region shares the same area code as the city, not many are aware that they are dwellers of an independent city.
Transportation
The most common transportation is the red NMMT buses and suburban trains. NMMT buses are similar to the BEST buses. Auto rickshaws and Taxis are also a popular mode of transport. Mumbai's suburban railway network also covers most of the populated region of the city. The most important external railway station of this region are Vashi, Belapur CBD and Panvel. The stations are planed as a major railway junction. Most trains plying on the Konkan Railway stop Panvel so that those passengers destined to reach Mumbai may get the local trains. These trains bypass the island city altogether. Future plans include linking the station to Pune to cut travel time between Bombay and Pune.
Commerce
Most of the software companies in Maharashtra have their offices in Navi Mumbai. The government of Maharashtra has also setup software parks to cater to the growing demand. Many large institutions also have their offices here. The Reliance group of industries have a major presence in Kopar Khairane and Mahape. Other prominent companies include Digit Computer Magazine. As a part of long term planning, major commodity markets have begun moving from the heart of Mumbai city to Navi Mumbai. Kalamboli (another node in Navi Mumbai) is home to a major steel market. Vashi has the fresh fruits and vegetables market. One of the important business landmarks is the shipping port of JNPT (stands for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) in Nhava Sheva - Dronagiri node. There are firm yet undeveloped plans to build an airport in Navi Mumbai.
Infrastructure
Navi Mumbai has near uninterrupted power supply from various sources. The city has numerous flyovers, broad roads, and parking lots. Housing here is much cheaper than Bombay. The main problem facing the residents is the poor connectivity with Bombay with only two road links between the two cities, and a single rail line.