Diwale in Belapur becomes first smart village in Navi Mumbai

Diwale village in Belapur boosts of a modern jetty, ample parking space, gardens and markets; apart from this, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation will also develop a community centre, library, gardens, office spaces, jogging tracks and wedding hall in this village; the work on this will be completed in six months, authorities claimed

Diwale, a small fishing village in Navi Mumbai, is now recognised as the first smart village in this city. No longer are fish being sold in the open. The fisherfolk have a fully equipped market for the same.

Diwale village in Belapur becomes first smart village in Navi Mumbai. It boasts of a fully-equipped fish market among other facilities. (BACHCHAN KUMAR/HT PHOTO)

The village boosts of a modern jetty, ample parking space, gardens and markets. Apart from this, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will also develop a community centre, library, gardens, office spaces, jogging tracks and wedding hall in this village. The work on this will be completed in six months, the authorities claimed.

The cost of development of Diwale is around ₹15Cr and is funded by NMMC, the Centre, the State and MLA funds.

The smart village concept was envisioned by PM Narendra Modi, who had asked for adoption of villages by people’s representatives. Accordingly, BJP MLA Manda Mhatre adopted Diwale village. The initiative will ensure that the villages have modern facilities on par with the nodal areas and also generate livelihood for the locals.

On Tuesday, the State opposition leader, Devendra Fadnavis, inaugurated the projects completed in Diwale under the smart village project.

NMMC city engineer, Sanjay Desai, said, “The objective of this concept is to ensure all quality civic services in the villages by providing requisite infrastructure and also facilities of bank, education, computers, digital services, WiFi etc. Projects to provide livelihood to the locals are also an integral part.”

BJP MLA, Manda Mhatre, who funded the project partly, added, “Around 100 womenfolk had to sit in the open earlier with their fish. Now, they have a safe and fully equipped space of their own. The various developments are intended to provide education, employment, health, hygiene and other facilities to uplift the quality of life of the villagers.”

The residents have welcomed the change. Vaijanti Koli, 45, a local resident, said, “We had been asking for a fish market as it was not easy to sit in the open all through the year surrounded by a host of people. Our menfolk now have a modern jetty that has made their life so much easier. Our kids will have library, computers and also jobs here in the village itself.”

Another resident Vikas Koli, 55, added, “For years, we have languished in our village without much development. Now, the transformation is huge and unbelievable. Our village has become so beautiful. Our kids will have a great time in the village itself. The jetty and fish market mean so much to us. The encroachments were removed to make way for parking space. The projects coming up will provide us space for our weddings, social programmes and so many other amenities. We are finally getting justice.”