Conceived by Government of West Bengal and nurtured by its own company set up in 1999, the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HIDCO), under the administrative control of the Department of Housing.

The New Town, Kolkata is planned on 3075 Ha. of land situated within 10 km. from Kolkata’s Central Business District and about a kilometre from the International Airport. When fully developed, the New Town will provide homes to about 7.50 lakh people (1.50 lakh families) and cater to a floating population of about 2.50 lakh. The New Town is being planned as a major hub for business, trade, industries, institutions and culture. Though it is planned as a self-contained nodal growth centre, the New Town will be integrated fully with the future spatial/ functional structure of the metropolis. The close proximity to Bidhan Nagar (Salt Lake) town will be an added advantage.

The New Town aims at providing sufficient buildable land for the construction of dwelling units for all income groups, with particular emphasis on the low and middle income segments. It will have high quality infrastructure like wide roads, bridges, large public open spaces including water-bodies, educational institutions, medical facilities, sports and cultural facilities in addition to basic infrastructure like water supply, power supply and drainage. Proper connectivity to and from the rest of the metropolis has been specially emphasized. A new major north-south arterial road with a six-lane divided carriageway is proposed. It will pass through the heart of the New Town and will connect it with the Kazi Nazrul Islam Sarani just off Baguihati on the one hand and Sector- V of Bidhan Nagar (Salt Lake) across the Krishnapur canal on the other. There is also the possibility of an effective water transport system finally taking shape once Krishnapur canal is made navigable all the year round.

The New Town will have several town level activity focus areas such as a new CBD, major sports complex with world class facilities, a technology park, a central recreational park around the new CBD located in the heart of the New Town, a permanent exhibition/trade fair ground, a large institutional complex including a civic centre, an environment-friendly industrial complex, super speciality hospitals, business schools, technical university and an entertainment centre.

Action Area-1:

HIDCO has taken up the development of the New Town in phases. Action Area-1 of Phase - I is located on 640 Ha land between the Bagjola & Krishnapur canals, close to Salt Lake City and has been linked by a six-lane bridge over the Krishnapur canal. This bridge will form part of the proposed north-south major arterial road. The Action Area 1 has been further sub-divided into 4 sectors viz. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D, with the following broad land use pattern:

Proposed Land Use in Action Area -1

Table 1.

The plan showing the land use pattern in the different zones of Action Area –1 is enclosed.