The latest planning projects undertaken by the Mumbai city government have been Vasai and Virar, developed by the Bombay Metropolitan Regional Development Authority. They lie north of the city on the north side of Vasai Creek, but south of the Vaitarna River. The area was predominantly agricultural until the mid-1970s when it was developed mainly as a low income neighborhood with cheap housing for approximately 400,000 people. But it has had many more migrants than it was expecting.
The problem with Vasai and Virar is that it has had no development, economic or otherwise. The infrastructure that was present in 1980 before the development was insufficient and no new building was done, despite the fact that the population grew at a rate of 290% between 1981-1991. Only 7% of the area has proper roads. There is rail transit, but many people have to wait as long as three hours in order to catch a bus that will take them to the nearest rail line.
Amenities are also a problem. There is no central drainage system. The
water supply is scarce, approximately 415,000 do not have water on a regular
basis. By 1991 the area still only receives electricity twice a week, and
this was an improvement on previous conditons.
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