State government, Centre will meet next week to discuss crucial projects caught in the tangle.
The state government has decided to adopt the middle path on the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) to strike a balance between environment and development in Mumbai.
The Centre has convened a meeting with the state ministry of environment next week, to outline the controversial CRZ draft proposal that has met with stiff resistance from various quarters in Mumbai.
High on the agenda are projects like the Navi Mumbai airport and the Jaitapur power project in the Konkan, which are awaiting environmental clearance.
But the most debatable issue will be the CRZ relaxation sought by the ministry of urban development for allowing construction of residential buildings along the coast.
The urban development ministry wants the Centre to get rid of the clause that bars any construction work within 500 metres of the sea shore, as it is “hampering” the development of the city.
Sources in the state ministry of environment said, “The Centre has agreed to make the CRZ norms flexible for Mumbai, considering it as a special case. But the ruling coalition and private developers want the CRZ norms to be scrapped completely.”
The urban development department has objected to the condition that relates to converting all open plots in CRZ-2 into CRZ-3, which means no-development zone.
Sources said Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh was against dilution of the CRZ norms. He has asked the state authority to take into account grievances aired by people on every project before it is given a go-ahead.
State environment secretary Valsa Nair said, “The Centre and the state are working in tandem to find a middle path on how effectively we can implement the CRZ norms. We do not want to compromise on environment, but at the same time we want to promote development of the city.”
Top in the government agenda is to undertake transport projects along the coastal stretch in the next 10 years. Public works department minister Chhagan Bhujbal has been voicing his support for road projects along the coast for quite some time.
However, his cabinet colleagues have voiced apprehensions about security.
A senior PWD officer said, “The CRZ allows construction of roads and approach roads projects sanctioned in the development plan of Mumbai.” But it comes with a rider: the state will have to take the responsibility of protecting the hazard line in such cases.”
A senior official of the environment department said, “The problem is that even when you allow excess FSI for redevelopment of residential structure by waiving the CRZ, the developers do not retain the open spaces.”
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