The union ministry on Friday had issued the final notification on reducing the Karanala Bird Sanctuary's Eco-Sensitive Zone. This move was to pave way for 22-km sea bridge to become a reality, free from any jurisdiction related to the environment and forest.
The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) project received a shot in the arm, with the Coastal Regulation Zone's (CRZ) clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had suspended the clearance in October last year and had asked the ministry to give a fresh look to the ambitious project.
The union ministry on Friday had issued the final notification on reducing the Karanala Bird Sanctuary's Eco-Sensitive Zone. This move was to pave way for 22-km sea bridge to become a reality, free from any jurisdiction related to the environment and forest.
Among other conditions, the ministry has asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to obtain requisite forest clearance to divert 47.41 hectare of forest land. The developmental authority has also been instructed to not disturb coastal ecology of the area.
The ministry added that the current CRZ clearance to the project is subject to the final order of Supreme Court in the matter of Goa Foundation Vs Union of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 460 of 2004, as may be applicable to this project.
The Rs11,800-crore project is scheduled to be ready by 2019, along with the first phase of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). MMRDA will implement the project after borrowing funds from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Loan agreement is expected to be signed between JICA and MMRDA in March this year.
Although the project had first got the environment clearance in 2005, it could not take off within the validity period of five years of the clearance due to irrational offers received from the bidders. Subsequently, the CRZ clearance was given in 2013, after taking into consideration the submissions of MMRDA that the proposal was to construct a sea link and it does not attract the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006. Pune-based NGT, however, kept the 2013 CRZ clearance in abeyance for six months. The project has also got clearance to divert mangrove forests.
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