New Mumbai, located in the eastern trans harbour of Mumbai, Maharashtra, is one of the world's largest planned townships. Since independence, the decision to build a new city on the mainland across the harbour was for a specific purpose: to decongest Mumbai, an island city whose physical expansion had a limit. It was also earmarked as an alternative haven for the multitudes that thronged to Mumbai from all over India. This decision required the state government to exercise the matching, politically speaking, hard option to relocate its seat of governance along with all its important offices to this new city, and completely stop the Backbay reclamation project in the island city. It did nothing of the sort. It continued with the reclamation and put brakes on the efforts of CIDCO (such as the shifting of wholesale markets).
Planned city
The planning of Navi Mumbai could begin, in the right earnest, only by 1971.(see p. 6,p. 16)) South Navi Mumbai is being developed rapidly with its class infrastructure and modern nodes of Kharghar, Kamothe, New Panvel and Kalamboli.
CIDCO development
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) was formed on 17 March 1971, under the Indian Companies Act, 1956.. The area covered 150 kilometres (93 mi) of the total 720 kilometres (450 mi) of the Konkan coast. Privately owned land conisisting of 86 villages covering 15,954 hectares (39,420 acres) within the present limits of Navi Mumbai and further villages measuring an additional 2,870 hectares (7,100 acres) were acquired by the government of Maharashtra.
CIDCO carved out 14 nodes—small townships—with a view towards facilitating comprehensive development. These nodes are named Airoli, Ghansoli, Kopar Khairane, Vashi, Sanpada, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Kamothe, New Panvel, Taloja, Kalamboli, Ulwe,
