New Town, Kolkata

New Town, Kolkata
Satellite city and Neighbourhood of Kolkata
Apartment high-rises in New Town
New Town, Kolkata
Location in West Bengal
Coordinates: 22°35′22″N 88°28′29″E / 22.5894°N 88.4748°E / 22.5894; 88.4748Coordinates: 22°35′22″N 88°28′29″E / 22.5894°N 88.4748°E / 22.5894; 88.4748
Country  India
State West Bengal
District North 24 Parganas district, South 24 Parganas district
City Kolkata
Government
 • Type Statutory development area
 • Body New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA)
Population (April 2018)
 • Total 1,000,000 (Approximately)
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 700156, 700157
Telephone code 033
Nearest city Kolkata
Lok Sabha constituency Barasat
Vidhan Sabha constituency Rajarhat New Town
Website

www.nkdamar.org

www.wbhidcoltd.com

New Town, is a fast-growing planned satellite city and a neighbourhood of Kolkata (earlier, Calcutta), located partly in North 24 Parganas district and South 24 Parganas district of the Indian state of West Bengal.[1] This new information technology and residential hub is being developed on the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata. It consists of areas of two erstwhile villages Rajarhat and Bhangar, which is now a statutory planned development area. The area mainly consisted of huge acres of cultivable lands and water bodies, which have been acquired and developed in a planned manner. The process of investing in residential and industrial facilities and infrastructural development of the area has mainly started under the leadership of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Jyoti Basu in the late 1990s. The master plan envisions a township which is at least three times bigger than the neighbouring planned Salt Lake City. The New Town (Rajarhat) has been also declared as a Solar City by the previous UPA government at the Centre and now the initiatives are being taken to declare this city as Smart Green City, a dream project of Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India) with the help of Government of West Bengal according to a proposal submitted by Mamata Banerjee (Chief Minister of West Bengal).[2]

The New Town Kolkata was enabled with 10.5 km of Wi-Fi Zone connecting the Main Arterial Road to the airport to Sector V, which also make it India's first Wi-Fi road connectivity. The stretch has already been declared as a green corridor.[3]

Geography

New Town is located at 22°35′22″N 88°28′29″E / 22.5894°N 88.4748°E / 22.5894; 88.4748. This township covers an area of 28 km2 (11 sq mi),[4] and is located partly in Barasat Sadar subdivision of North 24 Parganas district and partly in South 24 Parganas district. It is part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area.[5]

Economy

DLF IT Park, New Town

New Town being three times the size of Salt Lake has emerged as the second IT hub of Kolkata. Already several Information Technology majors are operational, while others like TCS (allotted 40 acres) and Wipro (allotted 45 acres) have been allotted space.

Currently, Real Estate investments and developments forms the other backbone of the economy. Companies like DLF, Bengal Unitech of Unitech Group, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Tata group, Ambuja Realty, Peerless Group, Sureka Group etc. are involved in Commercial/Retail/Residential projects.[6][7]

Demographics

New Town is a newly established township, consisting of gated high-rise apartment complexes. In this image, Uniworld City, a mini-township

As of April 2018, the residential population of New Town is estimated to be more than 1 million with 0.5 million additional floating population.

Civic Administration

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA)has been constituted under The New Town Kolkata Development Authority Act, 2007 (The West Bengal Act XXX of 2007) for rendering various civic services and amenities within New Town, Kolkata and it has come into effect since November, 2008. It is a transitional arrangement in the way of creation of an Urban Local Body (ULB). The administration is headed by a chairman, exercising authority over a member secretary and Chief executive officer, who in turn oversee various specific committees, set up to implement various duties.

Utility services

As of 2015, New Town gets 200 lpcd of treated water every day with potable water that is sourced from the Hooghly River.[8] Water treatment plants with computerised monitoring and control system are in place. 100% of the garbage is collected by sanitary workers through door to door collection. As of 2015, more than 70% of the solid waste management vehicles and street sweeping vehicles have been fitted with GPS devices for effective monitoring.[8] All the garbage is compacted at compacting stations before disposing of it in dumping grounds.

Electricity is supplied and managed by New Town Electric Supply Company Limited, or NTESCL.[8] Fire services are handled by the West Bengal Fire Service, a state agency. The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate looks after the law and order in the city.

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, or BSNL, as well as private enterprises, among them Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio, Tata DoCoMo, are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.[9]:25–26:179 Kolkata being the first city in India to have cell phone and 4G connectivity, the GSM and CDMA cellular coverage is extensive in New Town.[10][11]

Transport

Biswa Bangla Road

The main mode of transportation, like other parts of Kolkata includes air conditioned, non-AC government and private buses, taxi, and other popular Indian transports like auto rickshaw and e-rickshaws. As of 2015, around 300 buses on 25 different bus routes, either passes through or originates from New Town.[8] As of November 2016, the New Garia – Airport line of the Kolkata Metro is under-construction with cost inflation and delays[12][13] There is also a plan to extend the Circular Railway from Bidhannagar Road (Ultadanga) to New Town via Lake Town and Salt Lake.[14]

Education

The New Town School, New Town, Rajarhat, Kolkata

Some of the educational and training institutes that are setting up their campuses in Rajarhat:

For the children, to study up to the 12th standard, New Town also houses many schools:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NTKDA Act, 2007" (PDF). NTKDA. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. ↑ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/West-Bengal-seeks-smart-green-city-tag-for-New-Town/articleshow/37867094.cms%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  4. ↑ "Rajarhat Gopalpur Municipality". Official website of the Department of Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  5. ↑ "KMA notification" (PDF). Urban Development Department, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Real Estate boom in New Town...!!". PressReleasePoint. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  7. ↑ "Wipro accepts West Bengal's land proposal (Lead) - Thaindian News". Thaindian.com. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Smart City Proposal" (PDF). NKDAMAR. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. p. 7. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Annual report 2010–11" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "Kolkata connects India to 4G era". Times of India. New Delhi. 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  11. ↑ "City of the third revolution — First 4G service to be launched in Calcutta". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "Rail set to take over East-West". The Telegraph. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "Hidco clears route for Garia-airport Metro". Times of India. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Metro - Urban - Suburban Systems". IRFCA. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  17. ↑ Chakraborti, Suman (18 February 2015). "Rajarhat to get education hub". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
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