New Town (a.k.a Rajarhat New Town) is a posh planned smart city located in the state of West Bengal in India. Being one of the satellite cities of state capital Kolkata, New Town is located 11 km east from Kolkata.[1] It is a part of Kolkata Metropolitan Area and comes under North 24 Parganas district and South 24 Parganas district. It is administered by New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).[2] New Town is declared as a "Solar City" and "Smart Green City" by Government of India.[3]
New Town | |
---|---|
Satellite City of Kolkata | |
Apartment high-rises in New Town Rajarhat City Centre 2 DLF IT Park New Town skyline | |
Coordinates: 22°35′22″N 88°28′29″E / 22.5894°N 88.4748°E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | West Bengal |
Districts | North 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas[4] |
Region | Greater Kolkata |
Government | |
• Type | Statutory Development Board |
• Body | New Town Kolkata Development Authority, West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) |
Area | |
• Total | 93.9 km2 (36.3 sq mi) |
Elevation | 9 m (30 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 400,000−500,000 |
• Density | 1,218/km2 (3,150/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Bengali, English |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 700135, 700136, 700156, 700157, 700160, 700161 |
Telephone code | +91 33 |
Vehicle registration | WB |
Lok Sabha constituency | Barasat |
Vidhan Sabha constituency | Rajarhat New Town |
Website | www |
HIDCO plans developing infrastructure like - roads, drains, sewerage line, water supply lines, major embellishment works and executed constructions like - buildings, projects, parks, museum, subways, over-bridges in New Town.[7] An information technology and residential hub is developed at New Town. New Town was enabled with 10.5 km of Wi-Fi Zone along the Major Arterial Road (part of Biswa Bangla Sarani) from Haldiram, near Dumdum/Kolkata Airport to Salt Lake Sector V, which also make it India's first Wi-Fi road connectivity. The stretch has already been declared as a green corridor.[8]
History
The area mainly consisted of huge acres of cultivable lands and water bodies, which was acquired and developed in a planned manner. The process of investing in residential and industrial facilities and infrastructural development of the area was mainly started under the leadership of the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu in the late 1990s.[9] The master plan envisions a township which is at least three times bigger than the neighbouring planned Salt Lake City.
New Town was declared as a Solar City by the former former UPA-lead Government of India[3] and later this city was declared as Smart Green City by NDA-lead Government of India with the help of Government of West Bengal following a proposal submitted by Mamata Banerjee, (Chief Minister of West Bengal)[10][11] but later withdrawn from the Smart Cities Mission after the AITC-governed Bengal government decided to withdraw all cities of West Bengal from the competition.[12] It has rejected ₹1,000 crore to be given for development of the city as smart city.[13]
Geography
New Town is located in the districts North 24 Parganas district and South 24 Parganas district. It was declared as a part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area in August 2016 by Governor of West Bengal.[14]
Cityscape
Planning
New Town has an proposed area of 93.9 km2 in which 30.8 km2 is used for township and 60.354 km2 area is under planning. The township of New Town is divided into Action Area I, II, III and a Central Business District.[15] The erstwhile planning area of HIDCO also included Action Area - IV (still not started). The Central Business District (CBD) is located between Action Area - I & II. HIDCO installed the geographic information system (GIS) to integrate the database on the number of house owners, property tax, mutation, building construction etc. in New Town.[16]
Townships or residential projects
- Uniworld City
- Shapoorji Pallonji Shukhobrishti
- Merlin RISE[17]
- Skill City
- Launced by Ambuja Neotia group and HDFC group in 2023, it is a 72 Acres township with an investment of ₹550 Crores. The township will have Nursing College, Hospital, Para medical College, IT/ITes space, Residential Towers, Villas and Club house with 25% reserved for economically weaker sections.[18]
Tech hub
New Town has emerged as the second IT hub of Kolkata after Salt Lake. Growing number of tech parks makes New Town a preferred destination for IT and ITes in East India. Several Information Technology majors are operational like Ericsson, Accenture, Capgemini, Tech Mahindra, ITC Infotech, Mindtree, Adani Labs, British Telecom, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant etc.[19] New Town also houses Bengal Silicon Valley Tech Hub.
Financial hub
Fintech hub is developed in New Town by HIDCO with many national and international firms like PNB, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI showing interest in the project with their investment in different stages of implementation.[20]
Shopping malls
New Town has numerous shopping malls.
- Axis mall
- Centrus mall
- Central Mall, New Town
- City centre 1
- City centre 2
- Downtown mall
Hotels
Many luxurious hotels like Fairfield by Marriott, Novotel, Ibis, Taj Hotels, Westin Hotels & Resorts, The Park Hotels, Holiday Inn, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Lemon Tree Hotels, etc. have also come up in the area.[citation needed]
Demographics
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.[21][better source needed]
Civic administration
Authority
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.[14][22]
Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) plans and executes development projects in New Town, Kolkata.
Utility services
As of 2015, New Town gets 200 litre per capita per day (lcpd) of treated water every day with potable water that is sourced from the Hooghly River.[23] 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.[23] 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 (NTESCL).[23] 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 (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.[24]: 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.[25][26]
Transport
Rapid transit
- Kolkata Metro Orange Line: As of November 2023, the New Garia–Dumdum/Kolkata Airport Line (Line 6) of the Kolkata Metro, which passes through New Town, is under-construction and expected to be open before 2026. The metro will be main linkage between Action Area I and II of New Town township.[27][28]
- A Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) is planned to connect Action Area III to the Biswa Bangla Gate. The estimated cost of the project is around ₹4500 Crores.[29][30]
Roads
Biswa Bangla Sarani connects Action Area I and II. It also connects New Town to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. The New Town Road and Gitanjali Road also serves as major connectors between Action Area III and Action Area II. The main mode of road transportation includes air conditioned or 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.[23]
Education
Colleges and universities
Some of the educational and training institutes that are setting up their campuses in New Town:
- University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata[31]
- Amity University Kolkata[32]
- Presidency University
- St. Xaviers University
- IIT Kharagpur Research Park
- Aliah University
- Institute of Cost Accountants of India
- Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
- Ramakrishna Mission Centre of Excellence
- Belle Vue Nursing College
- West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) Training Institute[33]
- Techno India
- West Bengal Judicial Academy
Schools
For the children, to study up to the 12th standard, New Town also houses many schools:
- Delhi Public School
- Narayana School
- The Newtown School
- Bodhicariya Senior Secondary School
- Sri Chaitanya techno school
Sports
AIFF National Center of Excellence is a "state of art" football complex which includes India’s first ever roof top pitch. The sports complex is spread across 15 Acres and built with an investment of ₹200 crores.[34]
Cricket Association of Bengal is building an international cricket stadium in New Town. In 2022, CAB bought a 14 Acres plot with ₹30 Crore.[35][36]
See also
References
- ^ "Satellite Towns List". Walk Through India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
{{cite news}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; 25 December 2021 suggested (help) - ^ "The New Town, Kolkata Development Authority Act, 2007" (PDF). NTKDA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ a b Biswas, Amar; Singh, Omveer (May 2017). "Rajarhat New Town an Urban Perspective: A Case Study of Urbanization, West Bengal, India". International Journal of New Technology and Research. 3 (5): 263292. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "NKDA Overview". Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) (27 January 2014). "Landuse and Development Control Plan for New Town Planning Area 2012" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "New Town to become Municipality". 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Times of India". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ^ "Wi-Fi connectivity: 10.5km Wi-Fi zone in Rajarhat New Town | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "HIDCO Bhawan | New Town Kolkata". wbhidcoltd.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "West Bengal seeks 'smart green city' tag for New Town | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014.
- ^ "Rajarhat New Town to become Smart City". smartcity.eletsonline.com. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "West Bengal: Mamata dumps Centre's Smart City project, to develop cities on its own". The Indian Express. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Green City Mission: Rs 50 lakh each for all 125 municipalities in West Bengal". The Indian Express. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ a b "KMA notification" (PDF). Urban Development Department, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "HIDCO Overview". Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Merlin Group announces the launch of A Mega Sports Township in Kolkata". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "HDFC, Ambuja in 72-acre realty deal".
- ^ "Kolkata's Sector V, New Town on overdrive, add 20,000 IT jobs in last 6 months". The Times of India. 15 January 2023.
- ^ "HIDCO to come up with 'vertical city' in Fintech hub". 8 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ "E-Auction in New Town's Action Area II sees stellar response". Millennium Post. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Background". New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Smart City Proposal" (PDF). NKDAMAR. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "Annual report 2010–11" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Kolkata connects India to 4G era". The Times of India. New Delhi. 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- ^ "City of the third revolution — First 4G service to be launched in Calcutta". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 4 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- ^ "Rail set to take over East-West". The Telegraph. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Hidco clears route for Garia-airport Metro". The Times of India. 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "HIDCO plans Monorail type Light Rail Transit System for New Town and Salt Lake in Kolkata | Metro Rail Today".
- ^ "Kolkata: Hi-tech link plan for New Town's Action Area III". The Times of India. 26 February 2020.
- ^ "UEM Kolkata: Best Engineering and Management University in Kolkata". Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Best Top Private Amity University Kolkata in West Bengal|Engineering|Colleges|Universities|Institutes|Business|Management". Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- ^ Chakraborti, Suman (18 February 2015). "Rajarhat to get education hub". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "AIFF in talks with corporates for building National Centre of Excellence". 20 December 2018.
- ^ "CAB bought 14 Acre land in Rajarhat for the new International Stadium". 5 June 2022.
- ^ "State to hand overNew Town plot to Sourav for stadium". The Times of India. 5 June 2022.
External links
- Kolkata/East travel guide from Wikivoyage
- New Town, Kolkata – Development Authority West Bengal