New Town Residents Can Now Run Cafes On Ground Floor

In a bid to create a lively environment in the New Town area, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has decided to allow homeowners to use their ground floors for commercial purposes by paying a nominal fee as a usage charge. The idea to infuse life into the localities is inspired by the Salt Lake area where several eateries have come up in the ground floor, attracting the young population. The homeowners will be able to set up a restaurant, cafes and ice-cream parlors.  

 The Salt Lake version

A number of shops had come up in the ground floors of many houses along First Avenue as well as FE Block opposite Central Park. This includes banks, restaurants etc. These shops were regularised in 2010 by the state urban development department. A total of 53 eateries have got their license last month from the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. As a result, Salt Lake has evolved from being a pensioner’s paradise running on remittance money to a buzzing township with young upwardly-mobile families, government and private offices, hospitals, colleges and shopping malls all making a home here.

The action-plan for New Town

In New Town, the authority has decided to make a beginning with eateries. The preferred options include soft drink shop, snacks and tea & coffee bar, ice cream shop and dry food shop. The house owner will have to seek permission from NKDA and obtain a trade license against payment of a nominal fee.

Currently, only few food joints are operational in the area but face a lot of restrictions. The permit fee is high, around Rs 80 per sq ft with only 45 per cent of floor area allowed. The authority is planning to revise the fee and relax severe norms to encourage entrepreneurs that will, in turn, make the localities more habitable and also create jobs.

Apart from this, the development authority is also in the process of planning roadside cafés at multiple locations in the area like the one that operates at the bus terminus in Action Area I.

 New Town property market

New Town is one of the fastest growing satellite cities near Kolkata. It has become an IT hub due to which there is demand for residential properties. Since the metro connectivity is already planned for this area, it is one of the most demanded locality in the city of joy. There are a number of apartment units available in the area at a starting price of Rs 10 lakh and can vary up to Rs 1.5 crore for a 3BHK apartment. The average cost of property here is Rs 4,900 per sq ft.