Navi Mumbai: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) to explain the basis of giving the CRZ approval for the Tirupati Balaji temple on the Ulwe coast in Navi Mumbai even as green groups have voiced their concern.
Director of NatConnect Foundation B N Kumar had challenged the CRZ nod stating that the 40,000 sq mtr plot allotted to the temple has been taken out of a temporary casting yard set up for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and it is a restricted zone.
The temporary casting yard came up in 2019 while the google earth maps of 2018 clearly show a vast stretch of intertidal wetlands, fishing ponds, mudflats and even mangroves, Kumar’s application at NGT said.
This aspect of the casting yard was not taken into consideration by the MCZMA while giving the final clearance on November last, Kumar’s counsel Ronita Bhattacharya argued during the hearing on last Thursday.
Presence of mudflats in the plot
The counsel also pointed out that a map from the Maharashtra State Remote Application Centre (MRSAC) also showed the presence of mudflats in the plot allotted for the temple while the casting yard area showed wetlands.
The Bench has placed on record the applicant’s point that the use of the project site for the purpose of temporary casting yard for the MTHL has evidently resulted in construction work, felling of mangroves, reclamation and dumping of debris and landfilling of low-lying areas.
This has resulted in some of the natural characteristics of the land in question being altered and “compromised to the detriment of the ecological sensitivity of the region”, which has also resulted in the alteration of the location of the HTL in the region by approximately 5 mtrs., which, in turn, has seemingly altered the expanse of land categorized to be CRZ- I and CRZ- II areas in the region.
NGT's western zonal bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Dr Vijay Kulkarni pointed out that the official notification regarding CRZ clearance issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) mandates certain conditions.
The Regulation 8 of the CRZ Notification- 2019 stipulates the procedure for CRZ clearance based on the CRZ map in 1:4000 scale, which is to be drawn up by an MoEF&CC authorised agency by using the demarcation of the High Tide Line or Low Tide Line. The tide lines are supposed to be as per the specifications of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).
The notification also prescribes that the relevant project layout must be superimposed on the CRZ map duly indicating the project boundaries and the CRZ category of the project location as per the approved CZMP.
Case to come up for hearing on March 18
The NGT bench, therefore, called for these maps and directed MCZMA to present them within four weeks. The Bench will take up the case again on March 18.
The environmentalists have welcomed the observations and eagerly awaiting a judgement in this regard.
Earlier, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) permitted NatConnect Foundation to file a fresh application against the CRZ nod granted for the project. The NGO had raised objections on the allotment of the 40,000 sq mtr plot from a temporary casting yard and pleaded with the NGT to direct the MCZMA not to give CRZ permission.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam has proposed to construct a Tirupati Venkateswara Swami Temple on a plot measuring 40,000 sq mtr in Sector 12, Ulwe. The MCZMA had observed that the project planner needs to restrict the proposed construction in non-CRZ area as per approved CZMP, 2011. The members suggested that there shall not be any impact on CRZ area from the construction activities proposed in non-CRZ area.
