Connectivity, housing push in Cidco budget; no relief on pollution, water

Navi Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) presented a Rs 16,250-crore budget for the financial year 2026-27, outlining a continued focus on infrastructure expansion, regional connectivity and housing development across Navi Mumbai and its surrounding growth centres, with no immediate measures for rising pollution and erratic water supply across nodes. Cidco projected receipts of Rs 16,250 crore and expenditure of Rs 16,150 crore, with an expected surplus of Rs 100 crore. Residents said Cidco failed to address burning issues such as rising pollution and water scarcity in its budget. "This budget reinforces our commitment to infrastructure, connectivity and quality housing. With the Navi Mumbai International Airport, development of Aerocity and planned EduCity and MediCity, alongside enhanced connectivity through Metro Line 8 and Line 2, and the proposed International Corporate Park and several strategic development initiatives underway, Navi Mumbai is poised to emerge as a major economic and investment hub," said Vijay Singhal, vice chairman and managing director, Cidco. Cidco said the airport currently handled around 150 air traffic movements daily across 76 cities and nearly 19,000 passengers per day, with international operations scheduled from the end of April 2026. Phase I capacity was 20 million passengers annually and 0.5 million tonnes of cargo. Future expansion included Terminal 2, a central terminal complex, multimodal transport facilities, a general aviation terminal, water taxi connectivity and a FedEx cargo hub. Work commenced in 2025-26 on Metro Line 8 (CSMIA-NMIA), a 34.89-km corridor with 20 stations, expected to serve about 9.8 lakh passengers daily by 2031. CIDCO prepared the DPR for Metro Line 1A (Belapur-NMIA, 3.2 km) and Metro Line 2 (Pendhar-NMIA Terminal 4, 15 km). It also proposed a 25.3-km six-lane Thane-NMIA elevated corridor costing Rs 6,521 crore under PPP, cutting travel time from about 90 minutes to nearly 30 minutes. Cidco said it was developing an indoor live-entertainment arena with seating for about 20,000, had upgraded the Kharghar Valley Golf Course to an 18-hole championship course, and planned a Unity Mall. It outlined theme-based districts around NMIA, including a 270-hectare Aerocity, a 100-hectare EduCity near Karanjade with MoUs signed with the University of York, University of Aberdeen, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Western Australia and IED – Istituto Europeo di Design, and a proposed 100-hectare MediCity. It continued work on NAINA across about 225 sq km, with water projects including Kondhane Dam (350 MLD), Hetawane augmentation (150 to 270 MLD) and Balganga Dam (350 MLD), and said it excavated about 812 metres of treated water tunnel in a month using a TBM. On housing, Cidco launched a scheme for 16,876 tenements in FY 2025-26 and planned about 19,300 tenements in FY 2026-27.