Taking their battle against the upcoming sealink along the promenade forward, the Worli residents have filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court.
Taking their battle against the upcoming sealink along the promenade forward, the Worli residents have filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court. Their writ petition against the sealink was dismissed by the Bombay High Court in July this year. The order stated that any delay in the project would further cause escalation of the price and would not be in public interest.
The petitioners — Save Worli Seaface Samiti — are banking on the fact that many crucial points weren’t discussed in the HC, which referred to the 2001 case filed against the sea link by city-based NGO Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG). In the case filed by BEAG, the division bench held that the state government must strike a balance between the environments and solve the problems of an over-burdened infrastructure.
In its SLP, the Worli residents state that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was for a 1.2 km bridge, but when the bridge length was increased to 4 km, no fresh EIA was carried out. Moreover, both the Development Plan and the Coastal Zone Management Plan prescribe a length of only 1.2 km.
The residents have pointed out that the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification allows only a trans-harbour sea link. But, what is being constructed is a bridge just parallel to the city coast, which would permanently hide the city’s shoreline. This, according to the residents, has never happened in the world.
Besides, the tender for the bridge was awarded to the lowest bidder, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) for Rs401 crore. But the cost of the project has doubled, which will impose a steep toll on the people, argue the petitioners.
“What with the important law points linked to this matter, which could not be discussed in the HC because of the 2001 case, it may now be considered by the SC. Our hopes are very high,” said YP Singh, former IPS officer and counsel for the petitioners.
Kewal Semlani, activist and petitioner on behalf of the Samiti, said that the residents will continue to fight. “We are strictly going by the law. The EIA has been done for the bridge from Sea Rock hotel to Worli Fort, which was changed and a bridge along the coastline was planned. If the cost doubled, there was no open tendering done,” he insisted.
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