Influence of planned urban development in Kolkata’s peri-urban areas: A case of Mahishbathan Gram Panchayat
3.3 Brief overview – BMC and New Town –
Rajarhat Gopalpur Municipality: This is the oldest and most populated municipality within the BMC. Rajarhat Gopalpur includes wards 1 to 26 of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, which comprises dense and populated regions namely Lake Town and Baguihati.
Salt Lake / Bidhannagar: Salt Lake or Bidhannagar is a planned satellite town in the eastern fringes. Salt Lake was built in the early 1960s to relieve the rising population pressure on Kolkata and accommodate the burgeoning population of Kolkata. Salt Lake comprises the wards 29 to 34 and 37 to 41 of the present Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.
Figure 3.3 : Planned developments at Salt Lake Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/85296574@N00/10451623713
Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority, NDITA (Sector V): A unique characteristic of NDITA is that while its resident population is estimated to be 900, the floating population is 1 lakh. All these commuters work in the service sector consisting of IT/ITES, Financial Institutions, Telecom, Healthcare and Food Services (Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority, 2009-2010). NDITA is one of the key economic activity generators of West Bengal.
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