India
The Maharashtra government is seeking a relaxation in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms for the project.
Updated : Apr 27, 2015, 06:30 AM IST
Mumbai will get an additional open space of up to 225 acres, if the newly drafted detailed project report (DPR) on the proposed coastal road is anything to go by.
This will be like adding 9 Azad Maidans or 10 Oval Maidans to the city's open space. At present, Mumbai has an open space of about 3,706 acres.
The report promises a long, green patch running alongside the 35.6-km-long coastal freeway, connecting Nariman Point with Kandivali.
Additional municipal commissioner SVR Srinivas told dna: "It's not just a road project, but a vast creator of open space. There will be theme gardens, playgrounds, cycling and jogging tracks, water kiosks and other public amenities on the green space parallel to the coastal road.
"At present, open spaces exist only in certain stretches such as Aarey Colony and Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The extra 225 acres will be uniformly distributed across the city's western front and will be accessible to a large number of citizens."
The project will also marginally increase the per-capita open space in the city from the current 1.21 square metres to 1.28 square metres. The amount of land reclamation as proposed in the DPR is about 405 acres, of which 225 acres will be kept as open space.
The DPR also promises a 40% reduction in the destruction of mangroves from what was proposed earlier.
Asked about the fate of city promenades, Srinivas said: "No promenade would be affected. In fact, the size of the major promenades across the city will go up by more than 100 times. It will bring Mumbaikars closer to nature."
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), he said, has recently given an undertaking to the central government that the reclaimed land for the coastal road and its surroundings will be maintained as open space and no commercial activity or real-estate development will be permitted there and the high-tide line will be maintained.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has also written to the central government reiterating the BMC's commitment. The state government is seeking a relaxation in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms for the project. The project is currently awaiting clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests.
The coastal freeway project has met with stiff resistance from environmentalists, who say the project will only benefit a certain section of the city. The fishermen community, too, are opposed to the plan. Their argument is that the project will shrink their daily catch and they also fear losing their homes.
The BMC will be the implementing agency of the freeway. Once constructed, it is expected to bring down commuting time between Nariman Point and Kandivali to 45 minutes from the present two hours. The expected cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore.