The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the petitioner activist, a forest range officer and a BMC officer to visit the proposed cycle track site at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and provide an updated project status on Thursday.
The inspection will be conducted on Tuesday afternoon. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the construction of Powai cycle track that passes through the eco-sensitive SGNP zone. The track is also proposed to run along Pipeline Road and Vihar Lake.
The PIL filed by activist Amrita Bhattacharjee and three others has opposed the 36km project called ‘Green Wheels Along Blue Lines’, calling it “illegal and unauthorised." The PIL states that it poses serious hazards to the lake ecosystem and falls foul of the provisions of the Guidelines for Implementation of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.
BMC counselsDariusKhambata and Joel Carlos informed the courtthatthe track was coming up on the already existing 25-foot trolley track at SGNP, whichisnotinside thepark.MrKhambata said it’s “not covered by the ecosensitive zone notification”. He said there has to be a buffer zone of 100 metres from the first area, but it’s not applicable if it’s a BMC road. After going through photographs submitted, the Chief Justice said it shows pavements were covered to make cycle tracks.
“We want to know what exactly is there?” he asked. On the court’s suggestion, counsel for Ms Bhattacharjee, Mihir Desai, said they will accompany the officers and take photographs of the spot. Mr Khambata assured the courtthattheyarenot treating this as an adversarial litigation.
“We are all interested in the national park, and we want a cycle track also,” he said, adding that they will abide by the court orders. In May, the court had termed the BMC’s ambitious project of the construction of a bicycle and jogging track at Powai Lake and the catchment area “illegal” and has directed its removal.
The plea contends that development activities in this environmentally sensitive area have the “potential to cause severe ecological imbalance with disastrous consequences, including increasing the impact of natural disasters such as flooding that have been a matter of concern for the people in the city”.
