High Court quashes CRZ clearance for Mumbai’s Rs14,000-cr coastal road project

The court’s ruling means the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cannot continue work on the ambitious 29.2 km-long project.

A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar quashed the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearances while allowing a bunch of petitions filed by activists, residents and fishermen from the city challenging the project.

“We are quashing the CRZ clearances granted to the project. We have held that the environment clearance is required for the project,” the bench said.

The high court also rejected BMC’s counsel Darius Khambata’s request for a stay on the operation of the order so as to appeal in the Supreme Court.

The high court had, in April, prohibited the BMC from carrying out further work on the project, following which the corporation appealed in the Supreme Court.

In May, the apex court permitted the corporation to carry out the existing work, but prohibited it from doing any additional work.

The apex court then directed the high court to take up the petitions for final hearing.

The petitioners challenged the reclamation and construction work for the project mainly on the ground that it will result in damage to the coastline and destroy major marine life along the coast and livelihood of the fishermen.

They claimed that the coastal road project will irreversibly damage the coastal ecosystem and deprive the fishing community in the city of its source of livelihood.

The BMC earlier claimed in the high court that it had all the necessary approvals for the project.

Khambata argued that the coastal road project was meant to address the issue of traffic congestion in Mumbai.

The project, proposed to connect south Mumbai with north western suburbs of the metropolis, was one of the flagship infrastructure schemes of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.