Kharghar: Navi Mumbai`s new hot spot

Kharghar, one of the recently developed township in Navi Mumbai, is considered as one of the biggest nodes built by CIDCO. Situated very close to the proposed Special Economic Zone, JNPT and the upcoming airport, Kharghar was carefully planned keeping in mind the population boom in future.

Infrastructure facilities, considered to be far better than what is available in many other locations on Navi Mumbai, were built keeping in focus the future requirement for the next 20-25 years.

“The uniqueness of Kharghar infrastructure is that all the basic facilities such as sewerage, water supply, footpaths, roads and power are developed in an integrated way. This helps in avoiding the expenditure on maintenance of infrastructure,” said Sanjay Chaudhari, Superintendent Engineer, CIDCO.

Anant Karweer, former chief engineer, CIDCO, who took part in Kharghar’s developmental works, said that it is the first time that CIDCO has planned and designed street lighting facilities with energy saving devices that met international standards.

“Infrastructure in Kharghar is better than in Vashi and Belapur.The roads are very wide and free of traffic congestion. At the same time amenities including a central park is being planned which is expected to be completed soon,” said Jamna Das Palan, President, Builders Association of Navi Mumbai.

The central park, inspired by the designs of the Hyde Park, will be spread over an area of 200 acres covering three sectors, 23,24 and 25. Builders and locals believe such a huge park will attract more people to Kharghar.

Being one of the biggest nodes to be developed, the investments on infrastructure in comparison to other locations is large In Kharghar.

However, superintendent engineer Chaudhari said, “Investments cannot be compared. Definitely there is an increase in the flow of investments but you have to take into consideration the time period involved also. Vashi and Belapur were developed long back and Kharghar was built quite recently. More importantly, the change in specifications over the years in the standard of construction due to the introduction of high tech machineries have collectively made the investment go high".

The electrification of the township is taken care of by CIDCO and not by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). MSEB had found it difficult to recover its investments in other locations and builders had been demanding CIDCO to provide better power infrastructure.

Hence CIDCO took charge of the power distribution infrastructure after entering into an agreement with MSEB on its own internal funding with a business plan of recovery after10 years. The total estimated cost for power supply infrastructure stood at 140 crores (2002-03) for sector 1 to sector 24. CIDCO took one year for completing the electrification of Kharghar.

However, there is a power source infrastructure development (PSID) charge which CIDCO charges from the builders as a recovery tool of its investments. “This charge varies from Rs 200 to Rs 350 per square meter depending on the FSI of the plot,” said a builder.

Earlier, it was only the middle class which was opting for Kharghar but now the upper middle class and NRIs are flocking to this township, say builders.

The current property price range is between Rs 1,600 to Rs 2,200 per square feet. With the influx of people coming to Kharghar remaining high, the builders expect that by next year the prices may hit the range of Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,500 per square feet. Last year it was between Rs 900 to Rs 1,400 per square feet.

“The land rate has drastically touched the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per square meter,” said Jamnadas Palan, president of the builders’ association of Navi Mumbai. The rate once stood at Rs 3,000 per square meter.

With large number of educational institutions coming up in Kharghar, the city has attracted a big chunk of student community as well. Already reaching a population of close to two lakh which is double the number of what it was last year, the city looks set to bring more concentration of people.

Source: business-standard.com