Full-scale construction of the 26.3-km Versova–Bhayandar Coastal Road has formally commenced after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) secured a key working permission from Maharashtra’s mangrove cell, marking a critical breakthrough for the long-delayed Rs 22,000-crore project. The approval, granted on January 20, followed clearance from the Bombay High Court last month, enabling the civic body to proceed despite the project’s significant environmental footprint. The alignment will require the removal of up to 45,673 mangroves from the nearly 60,000 present along the proposed corridor.
Prior to this clearance, the BMC had already initiated construction of bridge piers in Dindoshi and Goregaon in August last year, along with preparatory work in areas outside Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZs). With the mangrove cell’s nod now in place, the project has moved into full execution mode across CRZ stretches as well.
“We received the last permission on January 20—the working permit from the mangrove cell,” said Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects). “Our project is mostly in the CRZ portion. We had started working in the non-CRZ zone already, but this permission will help us expedite the work.” Bangar said the project will be implemented in seven packages simultaneously, starting from Versova to Dahisar and extending onward to Bhayandar.
Relocation of high-tension power lines owned by Adani Power and Tata Power remains one of the most complex aspects of the project. “The bridge’s alignment is such that the high tension line with Adani Power and Tata Power is infringed,” said Bangar. “We need to shift that, and the working permit includes this shifting of lines, which will also include main bridge work.”
Providing details on environmental mitigation, Bangar said, “There are 45,673 mangroves that will go. Around 9,000 mangroves will be hacked from the bridge pier, and the remaining 36,000 mangroves will be in the shadow area, which means they fall in the alignment of the bridge and are not in the location of the pier.” He added, “Wherever in-situ plantation isn’t possible, we have got land in the Mira-Bhayandar region to plant mangroves.”
The BMC has committed to compensatory afforestation at three times the number of mangroves removed, along with statutory plantation across 103 hectares in Chandrapur district. Once completed by December 2028, the coastal road is expected to reduce travel time between Versova and Mira-Bhayandar from nearly two hours to under 20 minutes and shorten the route by around 10 km.
