Green model: Anushakti Nagar expansion gets Environment nod

The township,nestled within by hills,waterfalls and greenery,has a mere 11 per cent of the total land area in concrete— buildings and roads. Residents claim the temperature here is two degrees lower than the rest of Mumbai. The self-contained township has 268 buildings that houses employees of Central Government-owned corporations such as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,Nuclear Power Corporation of India,Indian Rare Earths and the Heavy Water Board.

The expansion plans,cleared by the state-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority,involve construction of 30 additional buildings with the tallest structure only 20-storey high. The plans include residential,office buildings and buildings for infrastructure facilities. Around 6,800 trees will be planted as part of the expansion project.

According to SK Malhotra,spokesperson for the Department of Atomic Energy,after the project is completed the township will house 1,068 additional families taking the total number of families here to 9,080. “There are around 40,000 to 50,000 people living in the colony but we need to create houses for more employees. The expansion plans are in keeping with the 12th Five Year Plan and the project is expected to be completed by 2017,” said Malhotra.