Thane-Belapur industrial belt caught in traffic gridlock

Heavy traffic on the Thane-Belapur road is taking its toll on the Thane-Belapur industrial belt, which has Rs 10,000 crore turnover and an export capacity of Rs 500 crore. This is not only becoming a major concern for the industry houses operating in the area but also posing a challenge to their normal functioning.

With the traffic of the old Mumbai-Pune highway being diverted to this road, everyday over 30,000 vehicles are plying on the Thane-Belapur road. This traffic pressure has, over the time, resulted in congestion and deterioration of the road, which was once constructed keeping in the mind the requirement and interests of the industrial units only.

However, the traffic diversion, which created the problem, is not the only worry for the industrialists doing business in the belt.

"Factors like rapidly increasing presence of the IT sector and the housing colonies coming up in the vicinity of the industries are adding to our concerns," said D M Nadkarni, vice-president, Standard Alkalies. IT has definitely triggered a rise in the number of private vehicles running on the road and putting immense pressure on it.

The condition of the road is worsening day by day. Vehicles bound for Gujarat and Pune ply on it. The industries require widening of the existing road to handle the problem of congestion.

However, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which collects Rs 100 crore from the industries as corporate tax and cess, seems to be least bothered about the pathetic condition of the road, complained industry sources.

"The road is not properly taken care of by the NMMC. Because of the presence of the APMC market, around 8,000 trucks pass over it daily. If the repair is not done, it will pose problems. And unless it is widened, the problem of congestion cannot be addressed," Dinesh Parekh, president, Thane Belapur Industries Association (TBIA), said.

"We need parallel roads that can cater to the growing demand. The traffic from the western suburbs of Mumbai to Pune takes this route via Thane. We need a bypass road to help reduce the congestion," said Nadkarni.

According to industry sources, though the residential traffic is also definitely adding to the problem, it is not a major congestion concern. Rather, the mere presence of the residential complexes is a hindrance to the normal functioning of the industrial belt.

"The residential complexes are clear violation of the Supreme Court order. City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) is just making money out of this. The possibility of even penalising us for pollution, later, cannot be ruled out. But who is to blame? Our industries came here first, not these housing colonies," said Parekh.

As per law, there should not be any housing colony in the vicinity of the industrial area - at least up to 1 km. This has been violated. The residential complexes have come up within a distance of 500 m, Nadkarni said.

"Since the Thane-Belapur belt is dominated by chemical industries, so no matter whatever precaution we take there is always a possibility of mishap which could lead to hazardous consequences, as well," he added.

"The area right across the road was supposed to meant for a green corridor, but housing complexes have even ventured into the minimum safe distance away from the industrial area," said Jayadevan K, joint secretary, TBIA.

The rising residential concentration is ringing alarms to the industries, as they fear that sooner or later they would be penalised for violating pollution norms. CIDCO has taken over the construction, and the finished buildings are being taken care of by the NMMC.

"The association has long been demanding that the housing complexes should be kept far off, but in vain. The industries are struggling to exist with so many anti-industrial developments going on here," Jayadevan said. Industry sources share the same opinion.

A company head, on the condition of anonymity, said houses and railway tracks encroaching the area have taken away a significant part of the electricity meant exclusively for the industry.

Moreover, the railway tracks and residential complexes are creating drainage problem in the industrial area during the monsoon. As on the east, the industries face the hills, "the last monsoon deluge has caused water-logging as the water could not flow into the creek. This also resulted in the industries losing property worth crore rupees," said the industry sources.

The problems for the Thane-Belapur Industrial belt do not end here. Slums are mushrooming in the vicinity as well. To make things worse, the government has legalised the pre-1995 slum settlements. TBIA is pressing hard for the removal of the post-95 settlers to a far-off place.

Moreover, NMMC has made the area behind Turbhe, a domestic dumping yard. This is creating problem for the pharmaceutical industries, which demand an odourless atmosphere for manufacturing.

Beset with so many problems, the Thane-Belapur industrial belt is one of the few industrial belts in the state of Maharashtra which generates a revenue of Rs 40 crore per month for the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. However, if the immediate demands of the industries are not addressed soon things may turn gloomy in the future.