Mumbai’s Ambitious Coastal Road Project Hits Judicial Roadblock As Bombay HC Cancels CRZ Clearance

The ambitious 29.2 km long coastal road project connecting Mumbai’s Marine Lines to Kandivali has hit a judicial roadblock after the Bombay High Court cancelled the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance given to the project, ANI has reported.

The court ruled that the project needs to get a mandatory environment clearance and that the work till date was progressing without necessary clearances. The BMC has thus been ordered to stop any further work which has been planned on the project, Times of India has reported.

The petition filed by various NGOs and Mumbai residents claims that the project is causing irreversible alteration to coastal morphology, biodiversity, and traditional ecological practices. It also adds that the reclamation work undertaken for the project is illegal.

As reported earlier, the coastal road project was earlier scheduled to be completed in four years and is envisioned as a series of tunnels, roads on reclaimed land, roads on stilts and bridges with interchanges planned at strategic locations for dispersal of traffic.

The Mumbai Coastal Road will comprise eight lanes. Out of the eight lanes, six will be exclusively dedicated to vehicular traffic. Two lanes will be earmarked for the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit system) corridor.

The project costing around Rs 14,000 crore is likely to reduce travel time by 70 per cent, and also result in annual fuel consumption saving to the tune of 34 per cent each year. It is expected to cater to three-four lakh passengers per day.