The data for Alibag is neither updated on Census India nor Wikipedia. As of 2011, the data shows a population of 2.36 lakh living in 212 villages and four towns around the principal town of Alibag, which is 19km from the Mandwa Jetty. The 2021 Census update never happened. From the growth one senses all around, as well as voters registered, it would be fair to presume that the current population is about 6 lakh.
It was Covid-19 and the launch of the RoRo service, which ferried cars back and forth between Mumbai and Mandwa, that presented Alibag as a convenient second home. The Atal Setu has reduced driving time and the announcement of a second, smaller bridge to connect the rest of the route by road to Rewas will soon make Alibag a 365-day drivable destination.
Land zoning from Category 1 and 2, which controlled building permissions at the Alibag Zilla Parishad, was changed a couple of years ago and handed over to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), and that changed the Floor Space Index ( FSI).
All these factors have suddenly turned a sleepy hamlet inhabited by farmers, fishermen and a handful of adventurous Mumbaikars into a suburb of Mumbai. ₹3,700 crore in stamp duty on the sale of land and property was collected by the government in two years.
Stretched Resources
Water: There is a water pipeline from Roha to provide water to the only major Industry here, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF). The skimpy water pipes shooting out from this are acts of “goodwill” towards the residents of Alibag. The rest still depend on wells and bore wells that are rapidly depleting each year. The salty sea water is pushing its way into the bore wells as they dig deeper and deeper into the water table. During the summer months, as well as for new constructions, one depends on tanker water. Alibag town’s residents get water for only one hour a day, four days a week!
Land: Low-lying land with black cotton soil perfect for rice farming is transacted for building homes, so a great deal of land-filling goes on round the year, polluting the original fertile soil and health of local trees. Climate warming has made farming non-lucrative. So the locals are happy to sell their land to Mumbai investors and elevate their own lifestyle.
Infrastructure: The road from the Mandwa jetty to Alibag town is actually a National Highway No 4! It passes through a string of villages such as Dhokawde, Zirad and Chondhi, but unplanned growth has shrunk this highway into no more than a local road with encroachments flourishing on both sides. It barely suffices for local as well as weekend traffic.
Another growth surge
Big changes are in the offing. Hundred-acre townships have been planned in Alibag. These are being promoted by domestic as well as international developers, and there is talk of five-star hotels coming in too. Soon, 25-storey towers will mushroom near the jetty. Will Alibag undergo a transformation from farm culture to bungalow culture to high-rises like its predecessor in Mumbai, Juhu?
While the natural hostility towards Mumbaikars invading traditional villages simmers, there is a reverse hostility brewing, with villagers giving out their homes to weekend merrymakers who blast music well into the night. Now, the old settlers from Mumbai are worried about losing their peace to the new ones, who will arrive and populate these urbanised developments. Natural chaos, I guess.
Can MMRDA please address this with a hearing for everyone concerned? Will there be adequate infrastructure in place before the sudden and impending growth becomes a reality? Or will the already stretched resources of Alibag be further stretched to accommodate the new needs?
Will Alibag become another suburb of Mumbai or can we hope for planning to develop it differently? Like, say, a cultural zone for art design and music studios, yoga and medical tourism, museums, creative institutions and activities that will perhaps preserve the natural ethos? We could create green building codes through progressive architects, new roads with avenues of trees, and future growth allocations can be made before all the chaos arrives.
Planning vs Chaos
Do you remember, about a decade ago, there was a plan to build the new Mumbai airport in Alibag? Many Alibag residents signed a petition with Ralli Jacob as the leader of the campaign, pointing out that the neighbouring dry and barren Panvel could accommodate the airport instead of wiping out hundreds of acres of greenery. They succeeded and, in a couple of months, the new airport will open in Panvel.
I have written to Shri Milind B Patel, Chief, Planning Division at MMRDA, seeking an appointment. I have promised not to be a disruptor but an enabler of real, substantial growth that may seem like a luxurious and far-fetched dream but could well become a new-age example of good planning. Is India’s urban planning limited to only celebrating the history of Lutyens Delhi and Chandigarh?
There are dreams of building 100 Smart Cities. Can we attempt just one Soul City? As a nation, we are well on the way to becoming a superpower. Can we afford to still aim at fulfilling only the pressing needs of the previous century when times have greatly shifted? Can we not aim a little higher? Optimistically speaking?