Mumbai : Mumbai’s coastal road has finally seen the light of day, as the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) on Wednesday cleared the final notification for this project. This facilitates reclamation of land for constructing the 35.6-km road connecting Nariman Point to Kandivali.
The Rs 12,000-crore project was stalled for several years due to MoEF rules that did not allow sea reclamation for road construction. The ministry issued a draft notification in June that amends Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules to allow land reclamation and mangrove cutting along Mumbai’s coast to enable the construction of the road. With the notification, the BMC will now reclaim about 150 hectare from the sea and mangroves, which until now was strictly prohibited. Wednesday’s notification paved way for a first of its kind road in the country.
The project, which is a combination of tunnels, roads on stilts, aims to decongest traffic in the western suburbs. BMC spokesperson said, “What was presently in the proposal form has now become a formal project. The MoEF’s notification allows the civic body to now go ahead with the bidding and construction process. We will issue tenders soon.” However, the ministry has mandated that reclaimed land shall not be used for commercial purposes and that the present CRZ line will not be affected.