Coastal Road Project: BMC Receives Approval for Additional Land Reclamation

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has approved the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) proposal to reclaim an additional 21 hectares (ha) of land for the Coastal Road Project. This will allow the length of the road to be increased from 9.98 Km to 10.58 Km.

In October, the Supreme Court had said that the civic body couldn’t undertake reclamation unless an environmental clearance was provided by the environment ministry as well as the MCZMA.   

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Activist Debi Goenka expressed surprise at this new development. “It is shocking that MCZMA, on the one hand, has quite rightly pointed out that they have no powers to grant post facto clearance in the case of the jetty at Guhagar. Yet, in the case of the coastal road, they have recommended that post facto clearance be granted for the coastal road project,” he said.

The MCZMA put forth 16 conditions that the BMC had to comply with before reclaiming the land. Among these conditions was the preparation of an environmental management plan in adherence to the recommendations of expert agencies. One of the other recommendations was to protect the livelihoods of the local fishing communities from Worli and Haji Ali. 

The civic body recently translocated corals from Worli and Haji Ali as they were on the path of the project. However, more coral colonies are expected to be shifted in the weeks to come. 

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A senior BMC official explained the reasoning behind the land reclamation saying, “We understood that of the 21 ha proposed reclamation, 14.49 ha is meant for protection measures to build a seawall to curb erosion and reduce intense wave impact while remaining 6.51 ha involves necessary additional reclamation connecting the project along its right of way. Our objective is to ensure the protection of the coastline, and for that it is imperative we have a defence mechanism in the form of this wall. BMC has also been directed to explore how the marine ecosystem can be allowed to propagate in the intertidal area protected by this natural rubble mound wall.”

The coastal road project will be an eight-lane highway that will connect Princess Street Flyover with the southern end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. 

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