MMRDA to develop 446 villages in Palghar, Raigad districts

The state government has taken the first step in implementing its ambitious plan to transform the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) into a global economic hub. It will initially focus on holistically developing 1,250 sq km within the larger 6,355 sq km that comprises the MMR and has appointed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) as the Special Planning Authority (SPA) to execute the plan.
According to this mandate, MMRDA will focus on 446 villages in the talukas of Palghar, Vasai, Panvel, Khalapur, Pen and Alibag. So far, development in these regions, on the outskirts of the country’s financial capital, has been ad hoc, at best. Now it will be taken up in a holistic manner, with world-class infrastructure that includes metro connectivity, better roads and bridges, new sewerage and drainage lines, and regulations on real estate development.
This mega-plan has been drawn up by the Maharashtra government to turn MMR into a global financial hub that focuses on services such as fintech, robotics, AI, health, education, global aviation services, and entertainment. The government aims to attract investments in these and other areas, and achieve the state’s goal of a $300-billion GDP for the region in the next seven years. The NITI Aayog, the central government’s think-tank, has set a target of making MMR a $300-billion economy by FY 2029-30.
The MMR plan will dovetail with other mega-projects already underway within and contiguous with MMR, including the Vadhavan Port, bullet train station at Palghar, new suburban rail corridor on the Panvel-Karjat section, Virar-Alibag Multimodal Corridor, among others.
“We have recently received an order where MMRDA has been made the Special Planning Authority (SPA) for 1,250 sq km in the MMR. We will prepare a holistic plan for villages falling under this area, in Raigad and Palghar districts,” said an MMRDA official.
Sources said that of these 446 villages, 223 will fall under the talukas of Vasai and Palghar, in Palghar district, and an equal number in the talukas of Alibag, Pen, Panvel and Khalapur, in Raigad district.
The MMRDA’s boundary will fall in Pen taluka of Raigad district and the southern part of the Patalganga River on the eastern side. In the south, the boundary has been extended to Khalapur, Pen and Alibag. Several villages in Palghar district have also been added. An MMRDA official said that in July, the state government had increased the size of MMR from 4,355 sq km to 6,355 sq km.