PCMC growth story: Absorbing 20 more villages
As a part of urbanization, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has planned to merge 20 more villages into its limits. The villages which would be merged with the PCMC are Chakan, Dehu, Hinjewadi, Vitthalnagar, Khalumbe, Mahalunge, Nighoje, Moyi, Kuruli, Nanekarwadi, Kharabwadi, Kadachiwadi, Chimbali, Kelgaon, Alandi,, Gahunje,, Maan, Marunji, Nere and Jambhe.
Benefits of absorption
Merging of the above mentioned 20 villages would help its urbanization, in a faster pace. Most of the areas which are planned to be merged with PCMC, are popular localities. While Dehu and Alandi are famous pilgrim destinations, Maan and Hinjewadi are IT hubs. Chakan is well-known for its industries and Gahunje, for its international cricket stadium. Once merged with the PCMC, an internationally acclaimed infrastructure would be provided to these regions.
Expansion of city borders helps in a healthy growth of the city and also improves the economic diversity. It proves to be a major factor responsible for rational urbanization. The market potential, infrastructure and overall ‘live-ability’ quotient of cities that are geographically expanding are high, when compared with stagnated cities that do not grow in terms of area.
Reasons for lop-sided development of cities
India is a developing country with a few modern cities. These cities, when compared to the others, offer a better living standard and job opportunity, which makes it preferred among the mass. Hence, as a natural consequence, these cities experience a high rate of migration, which triggers the need for efficient living solutions and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Though most of these cities have the potential for geographical expansion and development, the peripheral areas surrounding it go neglected due to lack of a proper city-planning. This eventually leads to over-crowding in the pockets within the city and causes rise of property prices and pollution. A huge economic disparity is also created between the city and its peripheral regions.
Most often, the government plans for a city expansion in the 11th hour, which leads to the sudden rise of areas, tagged as ‘upcoming locations’. This phenomenon has been noticed in metropolitan cities like Chennai, Delhi NCR and Mumbai. When such an expansion happens in a city, affordable housing projects are launched there by developers, even before the government plans any infrastructural development in the region.
Planned urbanization
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has become one of the most preferred localities of developers and home-buyers, in Maharashtra. The development plan of the authority is carefully worked out, focusing on improving the social and civic infrastructure of the city, so as to cater to the growing needs in the residential, commercial and industrial areas. Inclusion of more villages into the city limits is hoped to help in its growth in a positive manner, as it would assist in reducing the congestion of core areas.
