In what could be termed as shot-in-the-arm for the developers in Navi Mumbai, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have decided to move the radar and monitoring system to Shahbaz near CBD-Belapur and Dungi village, situated on towards south of the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
This has cleared the confusion prevailing over the residents along the arterial Palm Beach Road and infrastructural projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees going to be affected due to the radar and doppler system.
“The radar system was to be set up in a large strip behind the Delhi Public School under CIDCO's NRI complex. The planning agency itself had submitted a report to the central government that this would stall construction projects and land transactions worth Rs 3,000 crore. After conducting inspections and submitting technical reports, it was decided to move the radar and monitoring system to Shahbaz and Dungi village,” sources from the planning agency said.
Navi Mumbai airport project to be completed by December 2024
The moving of radar and monitoring system has brought a big relief to the construction of luxury projects coming along Palm Beach Road area, sources said and added that the central and state government have finalised the December 2024 target for the completion of the Navi Mumbai Airport project.
“There was difficulty in the installation of radar and doppler systems, which were important steps in the construction of the airport. Radar system will be set up at three places for this airport. While the first of these radar systems was to be set up at the rear of Delhi Public School, behind the NRI Complex on Palm Beach Road, the second system was decided to be set up in the interior of the airport and the third on the hills of Matheran,” sources said.
Apart from the radar system in the interior of the airport, the system installed on the outside is considered important for the movement of aircraft. CIDCO had submitted a report to the AAI that if this radar is erected behind the DPS school, the investment of Rs 3,000 crore would have been affected. The area of the effect of this radar would also have limited the height of buildings in the surrounding area.
Third radar system to be set up in Matheran
“There were signs that some of the much talked about construction projects along the Palm Beach route would also get underway. Due to this, the search which has been going on for the last four years to relocate the entire system, has finally come to a halt near Shahbaz and Dungi village,” sources added.
A third radar system for the upcoming international airport would be set up in the hills of Matheran to the east of the airport. For this, CIDCO and AAAI have so far inspected 11 places. “Out of these densely forested and inaccessible hills, three sites have been identified so far while one of the sites is adjacent to the police wireless communication building,” sources said and informed that the Raigad Collector is being pursued for land acquisition of this place.
According to the CIDCO report, if the radar system was set up at the rear of the DPS school, the built-up land of 83.27 heactareand 170 Ha of saleable land would be at risk. CIDCO claimed that this would affect land and construction projects worth Rs 5,850 crore.
The planning agency has already imposed restrictions on the height of buildings in the entire stretch, making it impossible for builders to fully utilise the increased carpet area proposed in the new UDCPR. Some construction projects have been completed and their occupancy certificates have been stalled due to the lack of permission from the Aviation Authority. In such a situation, if the radar system is set up at the rear of the DPS school, there is a possibility that this big construction project would have been further submerged, sources added.
When contacted, sources close to the development of the project said, “The positioning of the radar system is decided by Airports Authority of India based on required coverage criteria.” They refused to comment further on the issue.
