Dahanu-Virar Railway Line Expansion: Bombay HC Allows Removal of Over 25,000 Mangroves

The Bombay High Court (HC) has given the go-ahead for the removal of approximately 25,438 mangroves. This decision is part of a plan to quadruple the Dahanu-Virar line on the Western Railway. The approval, however, comes with conditions.

The court granted permission after considering a request from the Union of India. The Centre argued that the current line is oversaturated with long-distance trains, goods services, and suburban services. Its utilisation is over 100%. It further stated that the local trains on this line are extremely packed and that there is no way to add more suburban services along this section.

The Ministry of Railways has awarded the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) the task of quadrupling the Dahanu-Virar line. This project is part of the larger MUTP III Project, which aims to address the demands of ever-increasing commuter traffic.

The project's most significant task involves building Bridges Nos. 92 and 93, spanning the Vaitarna River at lengths of 550 metres and 450 metres, respectively. This construction requires the removal of over 25,000 mangroves. The third and fourth lines will be laid parallel to the current double-line corridor.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) gave "in principle" clearance for the project on February 28, 2022. This approval was subject to several conditions being met.

One of these conditions was compensatory afforestation over 54 hectares of land. The MRVC had to deposit money with the Forest Department in advance for this purpose.

The agency will plant avenues on both sides of the track, ideally with natural mangrove species facing the sea on one side and species like cashew and casuarina suitable for saline soils on the other. Additionally, the agency was required to raise 25,000 or more seedlings of various forestry species for ten years.

On May 13, 2022, MRVC deposited INR 8,26,67,093 for compensatory afforestation and a further INR 61,13,107 for tree felling with Dahanu's deputy conservator of forests. Payments of INR 14,36,41,278 were made to Avenue Plantation. In addition, INR 1,50,15,748 was paid for the purchase of 25,000 forest species seedlings, the distribution of 12,500 seedlings to nearby residents, and the cost of ten years of care.

After taking into account these compliances, MoEF&CC gave the proposal "final approval" on January 16.