The Supreme Court has approved the proposed Rs 14,000 crore coastal road project in Mumbai which is expected to ease traffic between the various parts of the city. The Bombay High Court had stayed the work of the project citing a lack of clearances from wildlife and environmental agencies.
While the SC order allows the authorities to begin work on the road, it has ordered the contractor as well as the project proponent to not carry out works for the proposed garden and water parks on either side of the road until further orders.
The Supreme Court has meanwhile scheduled a final hearing on the matter in April 2020, which should give the authorities close to 4-5 months to begin work on the coastal road project.
Senior advocates Colin Gonsalves and C U Singh appeared on behalf of the NGOs and environmental agencies opposing the coastal road project and mentioned that if work was allowed to begin, it could have irreparable damage to the environment citing the destruction of coral deposits as well as delay in the arrival of tidal waters.
The Supreme Court bench consisted of CJ S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant who heard arguments from both sides. The construction is undertaken by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and the contractor L&T.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray welcomed the judgment. In his tweet, he mentioned that this project is a dream project of his father CM Uddhav Thackeray. He also mentioned that once completed the project will be beneficial for Mumbai.
The coastal road, a dream project of @CMOMaharashtra Uddhav Thackeray ji, has been given the go ahead by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It will benefit Mumbai at large and we are committed to time bound completion of the project by the @mybmc
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) December 17, 2019
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