Kharghar

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Kharghar
Nodal city of Navi Mumbai
Utsav Chowk at Kharghar
Utsav Chowk at Kharghar
Kharghar is located in Mumbai
Kharghar
Kharghar
Coordinates: 19°02′10″N 73°03′42″E / 19.036146°N 73.0617213°E / 19.036146; 73.0617213Coordinates: 19°02′10″N 73°03′42″E / 19.036146°N 73.0617213°E / 19.036146; 73.0617213
Country India
StateMaharashtra
CityNavi Mumbai
DistrictRaigad
Sub-districtPanvel Taluka
Founded byCIDCO
Government
 • BodyPanvel Municipal Corporation and CIDCO
Area
 • Total10 km2 (4 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total244,472
 • Density24,000/km2 (63,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMarathi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
410210
Telephone code022
Vehicle registrationMH-46 (Navi Mumbai's Raigad district), MH-43 (Navi Mumbai's Thane district) & MH-06 (Pen).
Nearest cityPanvel, CBD Belapur
Literacy92%
Civic agencyPanvel Municipal Corporation
ClimateMonsoon (Köppen)

Kharghar is a node of Navi Mumbai smart city and its under Panvel Municipal Corporation. It is situated at the Northernmost tip of Raigad district. It was developed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

Kharghar is now administered by recently established Panvel Municipal Corporation. Shri Prashant Thakur, MLA represents Kharghar in State Legislative Assembly as part of Panvel constituency.

Transportation[edit]

Navi Mumbai Metro[edit]

CIDCO recently issued a press release stating they were confident of kick-starting partial services of the Navi Mumbai Metro in December 2021.[1]

Navi Mumbai International Airport[edit]

The proposed new Navi Mumbai International Airport was initially expected to be operational by 2019 in the Kopra area between Khandeshwar and Kamothe. This was passed by CIDCO on August 1, 2009. Despite getting environmental clearance from the Centre almost three years ago, the project was stuck due to protracted negotiations with farmers who wanted a compensation package of Rs 20 crore per hectare or 35 per cent of the land bank as a developed plot.

The project, which will come up on 1,160 hectares of land, will be built in four phases. The first phase with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers will be completed by 2018. After the completion of the whole project, it will cater to about 60 million passengers a year.[2]

The affected villagers will mostly be rehabilitated in a new township called Pushpak Nagar and in Wadghar and Wahal villages around the project area. Under the project plan, the rare island village of Waghivali in Panvel creek will be converted into a mangrove lagoon and its ecology will be maintained.[3]

Site for Central Park[edit]

Fountain in Artificial Pond of Central Park
Plan for Central Park – Kharghar, NaviMumbai.

The park occupies an area of 119 Ha. (approx.) spreading over into Sector 23, 24 & 25 in Kharghar. An area of 80 ha. (approx.) is earmarked for ' Central Park'. It is a relatively flat terrain that has sporadic vegetation. The site acts as a link between two natural elements: hill and water. Mumbai: A sprawling hill plateau spread over 250 acres at Kharghar in Panvel will soon be up for grabs. The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) will hold a global auction with a reserve price of Rs 2,000 crore to create a themecum-entertainment city on the lines of Hollywood, Disneyland and Sentosa park in Singapore.

Since its inauguration, the Central Park at Kharghar, is the center of recreational activities for people in Kharghar as well as others. For safety purpose there is[4] four CCTVs at the Central Park, which will keep a check on the visitors and keep a track of all the people. This move aims at ensuring maximum security for those who visit the park," a senior Cidco official said. He added that the cameras have been operational for a week.

Navi Mumbai Corporate Park[edit]

CIDCO has planned a better version of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Kharghar with a layered structure with a pyramid-shaped central hub of high rises. The new structure will encompass an area of 200 hectares factoring in the central park and golf course. The actual corporate hub will be on 125 hectares of land. Cidco has decided to have a layered structure with the outer fringe to be developed with 1-2 FSI while the core area will have 3 FSI. Around 50% of the area (120 hectares) has been set aside for the high rises with 3 FSI for the pyramid-shaped structure. Plots will be auctioned for corporates with the richer entities vying for the hub of the corporate park. Shops and commercial properties will also be developed so that there is night life, unlike BKC. Proximity to the Navi Mumbai International Airport and the metro project worth Rs 13,000 crore, will provide high class infra, Bhatia said. The entire Kharghar node along with nearby industrial and residential Taloja will get connected to the new airport lending an opportunity for businesses to hop between work stations and the airport.[5]

The Lung Billboard at Kharghar[edit]

Kharghar has a pollution crisis of its own, arising out of the industries in the Taloja MIDC area, besides other sources, and residents have been facing health issues since a long time owing to the polluted air. The most impacted or polluted sectors in Kharghar are sectors 34, 35, 36 and 37, besides Taloja, Kalamboli and Panvel. Some local residents and activists have been monitoring the pollution and collecting data to be able to take action against polluting industries in the region.[6]

On 15 January, 2021, a city based environmental organisation, Waatavaran (Climate, Environment and Sustainability Foundation (WCES), set up an installation called the "Billboard the Breathes", at the Bank of India signal junction, sector 7, Kharghar. Though the installation was installed on 15 January, 2021, it was inaugurated on Saturday, 16 January, 2021, by Panvel City Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) Mayor, Dr Kavita Choutmol.[7]

The billboard was installed to have a real time visual impact on the local residents of Kharghar and Taloja, who have been plagued by growing pollution emerging from the Taloja MIDC area, construction activities, the quarry at Kharghar and vehicular movement in the region. It was an remind local residents of the pollution crisis in the area every time they looked at it.

The installation, was the brainchild of Jhatka.org, and consisted two large-sized lungs depicting the human lungs, and retrofitted with HEPA filters and a fan to suck air, to mimic the process of human breathing. Along with that it had a digital air quality monitor to display the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI). The lungs were white in colour by default and were meant to change colour as per existing pollution in the area during a stipulated period of time.

The local residents were encouraged to monitor the billboard on a regular basis to witness the impact of pollution on a day to day basis and it was to be monitored for two weeks to come to a conclusion.[8]

However, the billboard had started changing colour from white to grey, barely a day after installation,[9] alarming social activists, local residents and the administration.[10]

The Air Quality Index (AQI) during the observation period was always between 230 and 365, which was very high, and continues to remain so. The experiment further fortified the earlier findings of another experiment by Waatavaran, which had revealed extremely high levels of PM2.5 in the air, in the Kharghar-Taloja-Panvel belt.

References[edit]

  1. "CIDCO confident of kick-starting Navi Mumbai Metro in December 2021". Local Press In. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Phadnis, Sanjay Jog & Aneesh (6 February 2014). "Phase-1 of Navi Mumbai airport to be completed by 2018" – via Business Standard.
  3. "Three opposing villages go for Cidco compensation deal - Times of India".
  4. "Four CCTVs at Kharghar's Central Park to keep a check on visitors". DNA. dna. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  5. www.ETRealty.com. "Cidco: Mumbai may get new corporate hub - ET RealEstate". ETRealty.com.
  6. "Kharghar sectors 34, 35, 36 and 37 most polluted after Taloja area". Local Press In. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "PCMC Mayor Dr Kavita Choutmol inaugurates "Billboard That Breathes" installation at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai". Local Press IN. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Monitor the Billboard That Breathes daily: Waatavaran urges Kharghar residents". Local Press. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Kharghar's "Billboard That Breathes" turning grey and black, two weeks before expected". Local Press IN. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "In 1 day, giant lung billboard at Kharghar starts to turn black due to pollution". Hindustan Times. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.

Template:Navi Mumbai

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