Mumbai : In a setback for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has restarted the procedure to procure environmental clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. This new hurdle will further delay the project.
Though MMRDA had decided to challenge the National Green Tribunal’s decision to suspend the project’s environment clearance, MoEF has suggested MMRDA to go through the process again. According to NGT, the MoEF hasn’t studied the impact of the project on the marine life in the creek over which it has been proposed and hence decided to suspend the clearance.
MTHL is a 22-km-long cable stayed bridge that would link Sewri on the island city of Mumbai and Nhava on the hinterland. Once completed, it would be the second longest sealink in the world after the 42-km long sea bridge between Qingdao to Huangdao in China.
MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner UPS Madan said that the first two rounds of the procedure with Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) have already been completed. “We have submitted a few clarifications that the MCZMA had asked. Once MCZMA recommends the project, it will go to MoEF for reconsideration. It’s as good as applying for clearances afresh,” Madan said.
The project, which was mooted in the 1980s, has been facing delays ever since and has remained on the drawing boards. This delay will impact the process of the loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that the MMRDA planned to ink by December-end.
Experts say that the reexamination of the impact of the project on marine life among other assessments is likely to take at least three to four months. But Madan is hopeful that the clearance will be granted soon by MoEF. “We had consulted MoEF on the issue and they suggested that we through the process again. They have promised the matter will be taken up immediately,” Madan said.
Meanwhile, JICA—the agency that is funding the project—is already carrying out its independent environment impact assessment. JICA will be funding 80% of the project cost which comes to Rs 8,800 crore. Chief Minister’s recent Japan tour—where he met senior JICA officials—sealed the deal for the state.
