The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has completed three Existing Land Use reports covering 2,008 square kilometres and 565 villages in Raigad and Palghar, creating a planning database for future infrastructure, housing, employment and environmental protection across the metropolitan region.
The reports cover KSC New Town, the Northern Extended Notified Area in Palghar and the Southern Extended Notified Area in Raigad, including Alibag. MMRDA completed the exercise in two-and-a-half months and handed over the reports to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during the launch of Invest Maharashtra on October 3, according to an official statement.
The KSC New Town report covers 324 square kilometres and 124 villages across Pen, Uran and Panvel talukas. MMRDA is the New Town Development Authority for the project. The area is being shaped by major infrastructure projects, including Navi Mumbai International Airport, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Atal Setu and the Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor.
The Northern Extended Notified Area report maps 1,007 square kilometres and 224 villages in Palghar. The area includes forests, river systems, agricultural land, a 40-kilometre coastline, mangroves, wetlands and tribal settlements. MMRDA said planning in the region would need to account for industrial, logistics and tourism activity associated with infrastructure such as MIDC Tarapur, while also addressing forest conservation, flood management, coastal protection and tribal livelihoods.
The Southern Extended Notified Area report covers 677 square kilometres and 217 villages, including Alibag. Together, the three reports are intended to establish the existing physical, social and environmental conditions needed for future master planning and infrastructure investment.
MMRDA said the mapping used aerial LiDAR, high-resolution imagery, Differential Global Positioning System ground control, Geographic Information System mapping, cadastral records and field verification. The exercise recorded settlements, terrain, infrastructure, natural systems and existing land-use patterns.
The authority said the database would support future digital twins and scenario modelling. By combining transport, utilities and environmental datasets, these tools are expected to help assess how proposed development patterns could affect mobility, infrastructure demand, flood risks and access to essential services before major investments are made.
The planning framework will identify potential locations for commercial districts, offices, industrial and logistics hubs, markets, e-commerce facilities, data centres and AI factories. MMRDA also said it would examine serviced residential land and affordable housing near employment centres and public transport networks, along with tourism, heritage and local livelihood needs.
Environmental protection is a central component of the reports. MMRDA said approximately 45 per cent of the combined study area falls under forest and green-area categories. Future planning proposals are expected to account for mangroves, wetlands, rivers, water bodies and natural drainage systems, while incorporating parks, shaded streets, recreational spaces and connected green networks.
Chief Minister Fadnavis said the reports would provide a stronger foundation for planning Mumbai 3.0 and Mumbai 4.0 by bringing transport, employment, housing and environmental protection into a coordinated framework. MMRDA Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee said the objective was to create compact, connected centres where residents could live closer to work, education, healthcare and recreation.
The next phase will focus on converting the Existing Land Use findings into coordinated planning proposals and phased infrastructure investments under MMRDA’s broader Mumbai in Minutes, Rebooting Mumbai and Reshaping MMR programmes.
