Mumbai, June 24: Observing that the Vadhavan Port connectivity project is a matter of public importance and has wider economic significance, the Bombay High Court has allowed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to divert 9.2498 hectares of mangrove forest land and fell 208 mangrove trees for the construction of an eight-lane access-controlled highway linking the upcoming port in Palghar district to NH-48.
A bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande held that the project proponent had secured all necessary environmental, Coastal Regulation Zone and forest clearances, besides complying with compensatory afforestation requirements.
The court said the project was in the larger public interest and would provide crucial connectivity to the proposed Vadhavan Port, which has been identified as a nationally important infrastructure project.
“In our view, the said project being of public utility, would provide connectivity to the Vadhavan Port, which is being developed as a major port on the landlord port development model, which would open an opportunity for India to make it into the countries with the top 10 container ports in the world,” the bench said.
Court Cites Public Interest
The NHAI had approached the court seeking approval in view of earlier directions passed by the High Court in a long-pending mangrove protection PIL, which require prior court permission for the destruction of mangroves even in public projects.
The court noted that the proposed road is a critical component of the Vadhavan Port project, which has been identified by the Centre as a nationally important infrastructure project. The port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Maharashtra Maritime Board as a joint venture project.
According to NHAI, the requirement to cut mangroves emerged only after a joint field measurement conducted in December 2025 found mangrove growth in portions of the proposed road and rail alignment. Following this, the agency sought diversion of mangrove forest land and obtained Stage-I and final forest clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
BEAG Opposes Mangrove Felling
Senior advocate Aditya Mehta, appearing for the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), opposed the plea. He argued that while obtaining environmental clearance for the port project, authorities had stated that no mangroves would be affected. He contended that the present proposal to cut 208 mangrove trees violated that assurance.
Rejecting the objection, the court observed that the mangroves were found in the road and rail connectivity area and not within the port construction area itself. Referring to a report of the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, the bench noted that “mangroves felling is not required for port construction and that the area required for the road/rail are totally different.”
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Compensatory Afforestation Undertaken
The court also recorded that NHAI had complied with compensatory afforestation requirements. The project proponent has undertaken plantation of 1.33 lakh mangroves on 30 hectares of land and deposited more than Rs 4.83 crore towards mangrove compensatory afforestation, apart from other payments required under forest clearance conditions.
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