Despite the reduction in the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) from the initially planned 272 villages to just 95 in the Raigad district, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remains optimistic about its potential as a major business hub near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Speaking at the Mumbai Tech Summit last week, Fadnavis emphasized the project's significance in shaping the region’s economic future.
"Mumbai will always be the country’s business capital, but we now need to create a new urban agglomeration around the new airport," Fadnavis stated. He highlighted that NAINA would be three times the size of Mumbai and designed to meet modern business needs. Strategically located, the proposed city will be just a 25-minute drive from the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai’s current financial district.
The NAINA Scheme is a voluntary initiative requiring a minimum land area or land aggregation of 10 hectares for participation. Under this scheme, 40% of the land must be allocated to the project, while the remaining 60% is retained by the owner for development. The 40% land contribution can include reservations for roads, open spaces, amenities, and growth centers, if applicable. The 60% land retained by the owner is permitted a maximum Floor Space Index (FSI) of 1.7, effectively transferring the development potential of the 40% allocated land onto the retained portion. Permissible uses for the owner’s land include residential, commercial, a mix of residential and commercial, hotels, and office spaces.
However, the scheme has faced resistance from villagers who are unwilling to accept only 60% of the developed land without monetary compensation. A Navi Mumbai-based developer pointed out that, even after 12 years, only 80 to 90 projects have received occupancy certificates due to a lack of clarity in the project.