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A proposed ₹12,000-crore coastal road project to connect south Mumbai with the city’s western suburbs may get stalled due to litigation.
Environmentalists are planning to approach the courts and the National Green Tribunal over the threat of flooding due to mangrove destruction.
To ease traffic, the Maharashtra government proposes to connect Nariman Point to Kandivali via a 35.6-km-long coastal highway via reclaimed land, bridges and tunnels, on the western coast of Mumbai.
The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, a similar structure that connects Bandra in the west with Worli in the island city ran into major legal battles over environmental concerns. The project was delayed by five years before being completed in 2009.
Storm water outflow Environmentalists fear that large-scale culling of mangroves and land reclamation for the project will adversely affect storm water outflow. The possibility of flooding of roads and rail lines during the monsoon could increase significantly.
A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the cancellation of the project may be filed soon, said lawyer and environmentalist Girish Raut.
Another environmental action group is in the process of filing court papers. The secretary of the group, requesting anonymity, said the experts assisting the group have carried out a detailed hydrological study of Mumbai. They have stated that any further land reclamation around the coast will prevent the free discharge of rainwater into the sea.
‘Mass transit system needed’ The coastal road is meant for motorists, who are a not a significant percentage of Mumbai’s commuters, said Raut. The city needs a mass transport system and not a road-based solution, he averred.
When the Bandra-Worli Sealink was constructed, it is alleged to have caused massive habitat destruction along the coast. Reclamation of land at the mouth of the Mahim bay for that project was cited as one of the factors that led to floods in the city in 2005.
The floodwaters, which were carried by the Mithi river towards the bay, could not flow into the sea, said Raut.
“I fear a similar problem all over the western coast of Mumbai. Its impact would be catastrophic,” he added.
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