After Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, a Third Mumbai has arrived on the planning board. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is responsible for preparing a perspective plan for MMR, is making preparations to develop a brand new – means greenfield – city in the vicinity of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. A proposal for this township has been accepted by MMRDA and awaiting formal approval of the Maharashtra government. Third Mumbai will blossom on the areas which are to primarily benefit by the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) or the Shivadi – Nhava Sheva sea bridge. An ambitious project, Third Mumbai will be a high-tech city that will provide world-class employment opportunities and swanky housing as well as recreation facilities. The upcoming airport near Panvel will be the pivot around which Third Mumbai will develop in phases. As most of the land required for the project is unoccupied, it is projected that the brand new city will welcome its initial occupiers within a decade’s time from now.
MMRDA’s MTHL project to reduce distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is nearing completion very fast. This sea bridge is 21.80 km long and once it is commissioned for traffic, the distance between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will be crossed in about 25 minutes against the present requirement of an hour or much more. The work on MTHL started in 2018 and the link should have been operational by quite earlier. However, the project got delayed by the Corona pandemic and other reasons, political and administrative. After overcoming various hurdles, over 95 percent of the work has been completed. MMRDA is planning to inaugurate the sea bridge in January, before the code of conduct is announced for the next Lok Sabha election due in April—May.
Besides speeding up travel between Mumbai and the mainland, MTHL will be a transformative boost for Navi Mumbai in particular and for MMR in general. It is guessed that the number of people coming to the Navi Mumbai node for work or residence will multiply manifold as the travel time will decrease. Similarly, MMRDA’s planning envisages increased industrial activity in the neighbourhood of the MTHL and the airport. Naturally, new employment opportunities will develop in the area. Hence MMRDA has proposed a development center as part of MTHL.
MMRDA plans to develop an area of 323.44 sq km where MTHL ends across the Mumbai harbour. It may be noted that Greater Mumbai is spread over an area of 437 sq km, which includes about a hundred sq km of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. When compared with this, the proposed cluster will offer much higher quality of life. To be called Third Mumbai, it will be developed by integrating lands in 124 villages in Uran, Pen and Panvel talukas. It will also include some pockets from CIDCO’s NAINA project as CIDCO has issued a no objection certificate to transfer this area to MMRDA. Residential and commercial complexes will be developed on 44 sq km and will be equipped with modern facilities like schools, hospitals and open grounds.
While MMRDA will be the apex body in developing MMR’s far off regions, a separate dedicated entity called the New Town Development Authority (NTDA) has been formed to supervise the transformation of the region encompassing the 323 sq km of area. It is speculated that nearly 200 villages are likely to come under NTDA eventually. This could include around two dozen hamlets which are currently under the Navi Mumbai Airport-Influenced Notified Area (NAINA).
Third Mumbai will be a hub housing decent housing and civic amenities, commercial complexes, data centres, MNCs, banks, and academic complexes. It is scheduled to be taking off by December 2025. To cater to the needs of the working class, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation is launching the Panvel-Karjat suburban rail corridor at an investment of over Rs.800 crore. The project will bring Mumbai and Navi Mumbai closer.
In view of the planning for Third Mumbai, it would be educative to take a peek at the results of an “Ease of Living” survey, as analysed by urban expert Sucheta Dasgupta. The findings raise more questions than answers. The national capial, Delhi, is absent from the infrastructure category although it has a string of flyovers and Metro Rail lines. Why have the town planners deleted Delhi from their study? Is there any relationship between capital expenditure and standards of liveability? Her another observation is quite interesting. She points out that two of the cities ranked as the happiest in India are steeped in religion. “Does spirituality bring a sense of happiness?” is her query. City planners will some day consider this angle, too.
Another key question poses the question : is good governance a major factor in promoting happiness? According to Sucheta, the answer is an emphatic yes. She discusses two cities which had ranked highest for happiest cities in the survey. Navi Mumbai and Tirupati, which also ranked highest for governance. The others in this list were Karim Nagar (Telangana), Hyderabad and Bilaspur.
But for the sole exception of Chandigarh, the cities in south and west India have figured as top urban centres in the country. In terms of economic criteria, Chandigarh is the best city to live in, followed by Ajmer and Kota, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu.
Pune, Navi Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Tirupati and Chandigarh are the five best cities to live in. Chennai has not performed respectably (at 14th place) while Delhi ranks a surprising 65th. Hyderabad and Bengaluru are 27th and 58th, respectively. The results of the survey throw up a number of factors for our policymakers and city planners while developing cities of the future.
Is mere infrastructural and material growth is the responsibility of the authorities? What about the index of happiness? A look at the beautiful sectors of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the best evidence of planning with a human touch. We have squandered this rich legacy callously. For Third Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has a golden opportunity to develop a city of true world standards. Mumbai should welcome people from other parts of the country, not drive them away.
A Column By
Dilip Chaware – Senior Editor
A media professional for 43 years, with extensive experience of writing on
a variety of subjects; he is also a documentary producer and book author.
