The Maharashtra government’s ambitious Mumbai coastal road project hit an unexpected roadblock on 16 July 2019 after the Bombay High Court struck down the environmental clearances granted to the project.
While many see this as a massive victory for environmentalists and conservationists, the fight is still far from over as the BMC has now moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court order.
The mega project, that is set to cost about Rs 12,700 crore, has courted controversy ever since its inception.
While it will definitely cut down the commute time for Mumbaikars travelling between South Mumbai and the far-flung western suburbs of the city, environmentalists argue that the massive construction needed will be detrimental to the ecosystem in and around the city.
Decongesting Mumbai’s arterial roads was the key idea behind the Coastal Road project. Covering a distance of 29.2 kilometre, the road is expected to be built in two phases – Marine Lines in South Mumbai to Worli Sea Link and Bandra Sea Link to Kandivali junction in North Mumbai.
Apart from reducing travel time, the BMC, in a 2016 report, stated that, ‘health concerns alone would justify taking up this project in larger public interest.’
The civic body added that the land reclaimed for the coastal road would also create more open spaces – something scarce in the ‘maximum’ city.
Transport experts have their reservations about the Coastal Road project. Some feel that it will decongest a very small part of the city and is, thus, not economically viable.
“Also, the Metro is quite comfortable. It is more expensive than buses but is cheaper than paying toll,” he adds.
A study by Sagarshakti, the marine division of the environmentalist group Vanashakti, found that the Coastal Road project poses a direct threat to at least 36 intertidal marine species present along the Worli shoreline.
The report also identifies that some of these species like molluscs, sea cucumbers, corals and sea fans are included in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The BMC, which was ordered to pay two percent of the total cost of the project to the Mangrove Foundation of Maharashtra, before the Coastal Road project began, has paid only Rs 25 crore so far.
The civic body is expected to pay a total of Rs 254 crore to the autonomous society that assists the Maharashtra government in marine conservation.
The Indian Express reported that the civic body will spend Rs 7.88 crore on preparing the biodiversity conservation plan. Environmentalists, however, believe that the BMC’s move to order a study now is too little, too late.
Fishermen living along the coast of Mumbai have vehemently opposed the project, that they say could destroy their only source of livelihood.
The two main petitioners fighting a legal battle to halt the Coastal Road are fishermen’s groups from Worli-Koliwada Nakhwa Matsya Vyavsay Sahakari Society Ltd and Worli Machimmar Sarvodaya Sahakari Society.
Days before Mumbai voted in the Lok Sabha polls, in May 2019, fishermen societies from Worli announced that they would boycott the polls to protest the Coastal Road project.
Banners were also erected along Worli that urged people to not vote in the polls, The Indian Express reported.
Responding to the concerns of the fishing community, the BMC has offered to provide monetary compensation to those who would end up losing their source of income.
The civic body, however, is yet to come up with a concrete plan.
On 16 July, the Bombay High Court quashed the Coastal Regulation Zone clearances to the project, citing lack of proper scientific study. This is the second time the BMC is forced to stop all work at the project site.
In April 2019, the Bombay High Court had prohibited the BMC from carrying out any further work on the project after multiple petitioners intervened. Following this setback, the civic body had appealed before the Supreme Court.
In its order, the Bombay High Court directed the civic body to obtain environmental clearance under Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification issued by the Centre and also declared that permission must be obtained under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The court also directed that environment impact assessment must be done for the Mumbai coastal road project in entirety and not in parts.
The BMC has now, once again, challenged the high court’s order. Activists, too, now pin all their hopes on the apex court.
The BMC had already spent Rs 500 crore on the Coastal Road project when the Bombay High court struck down environmental clearances, on 16 July 2019.
The civic body and the contractors working on the project have already reclaimed land in multiple locations, including Worli sea face and Haji Ali among others.
The complete halt, however, could result in increasing the cost of the project – that is already a whopping Rs 12,700 crore.
L&T was awarded two packages of the Coastal Road worth almost Rs 7,500 crore in 2018, reported The Economic Times.
HCC meanwhile, bagged contracts worth Rs 2,126 crore in a joint venture with Hyundai Development Corporation.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, The Economic Times and PTI)
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