News Detail

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">After four years of campaigning and redrawing road widening plans, Digha Road will finally be widened.&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">The civic body had planned to increase the width of the road from three lanes to six, but had faced opposition from slum dwellers and shop owners who had been living along the 180 metre road. Digha Road was the last stretch that had to be concretized as part of the Thane-Belapur development plan.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The slum dwellers had refused to move when the original plan was drawn fearing they would be relocated away from the city. But after negotiations and conversations with various officials and politicians, the 64 shops and 14 hutmen accepted the resolution of relocating to an MIDC plot. The standing committee passed a resolution on Thursday.&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">A ground-plus-two-floor building will be constructed on the MIDC OS-1 plot. The building will have 12 flats measuring 292 Sq ft and 64 shops of 230 Sq ft each.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">&quot;An administrative survey is being conducted for better understanding of the project,&quot; said Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) engineer Mohan Dagaokar a Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) official.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Digha Road had become a bottle neck on the arterial Thane-Belapur road and would cause traffic jams as vehicles would be forced to channel themselves into two lanes.&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="color:rgb(105, 105, 105); font-family:arial; font-size:11px; line-height:1.6em">The NMMC will soon build a foot-over-bridge on the spot to help pedestrians cross the road.</span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The gridlock faced by NMMC for years over relocating the shop owners and slum dwellers settled on the 180 meters road stretch to be widened in Digha as part of the 6 lane Thane Belapur road has been resolved. As per the proposal sanctioned by the standing committee on Thursday the corporation is to proceed with road widening of the area as MIDC has allocated a plot to be used for rehabilitation of the affected persons.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The road widening work of the Digha area was affected owing to the settlement of 64 shops and 18 hutments. Now with MIDC giving OS-1 plot the work process of the 180 meters is to commence and the expense estimated to be incurred is INR 13.27 crores. Prior to the passing of the proposal committee members inquired upon the nature of rehabilitation to be conducted and sought from administration assurance that the livelihood of the shop owners will not be affected. &quot;In the name of rehabilitation if the existing shop owners are going to be put up in some secluded area it will go against their interest. So it should be administrations&#39; prerogative that no such bias happens,&quot; said member Jadish Gavte.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The nature of work to be undertaken on this stretch will include construction rooms and shops on the MIDC plot, widening and concretisation of the road, constructing footpath and drainage channels, a foot over bridge and electrical works. To effect the rehabilitation NMMC has proposed to construct on the MIDC plot G+2 floors of 292 Sq. ft of 12 residential rooms and 400 Sq. ft of 6 rooms to accommodate hutments and likewise for commercial purposes two multi storied buildings comprising 64 shops of 230 sqft is to be built. &quot;Administrative survey is being conducted for better understanding. With the road widening traffic flow will also increase therefore construction of foot over bridge is a necessity to avoid accidents involving pedestrian crossing.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">After negotiations and conversations with various officials and politicians, the 64 shops and 14 hutmen accepted the resolution of relocating to an MIDC plot. The standing committee passed a resolution on Thursday</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Source-On Request</span></span></span></p>