The ambitious Mumbai Coastal Road expansion project, which will connect Versova and Dahisar, is being undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and is expected to affect 337 trees across its 22-kilometer length. The project includes a cable-stayed bridge, roadways on stilts, raised parts, land-based highways, and a cut-and-cover tunnel under a creek.
According to civic officials, 166 trees will be cut, while the remaining will be transplanted. The project has already secured Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearances. “The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) granted CRZ clearance on November 13, 2024, in favour of BMC,” said an official.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the MoEFCC website both include the clearance documentation. Officials guaranteed that the alignment of the project was designed to reduce its impact on the environment. The state tree authority and the Maharashtra government’s mangrove cell must grant their clearance because the impacted trees are located in public areas and mangrove zones.
Source: TOI
