Bandra Worli Sea Link: An environmental disaster that may destroy Mumbai?

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which was many years in the making, finally became a reality on June 30, 2009. Despite the delay, it firmly got entrenched as a crumbling city's newest and most modern landmark.

Earlier: Two years on: Major events at the Bandra Worli Sea Link

On the second anniversary of the inauguration of Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link, DNA speaks to environmentalist Bittu Sahgal, editor, Sanctuary Asia.

What are the short-term and long-term environmental threats that might crop up due to the existence of the Bandra Worli Sea Link?
Forget short term, the first disaster has already occurred. Have we forgotten the Mithi Flood? It had everything to do with the Bandra Worli Sea Link, for which the mouth of the Mithi river at Mahim Causeway was narrowed to reclaim land.

Despite that flood, instead of widening the mouth, our planners thought fit to narrow the mouth even further - in effect fitting a clamp instead of a stent on the artery.

What was the result of this clamping?
This caused the water to back up and flood areas all along the course of the Mithi like Bandra East and Kalina.

How can this be remedied?
Another rain of the kind we saw last year will take an even higher toll of life and properly, unless money is now invested to do what we had suggested in the first place - install stilt supports for the cloverleaf flyovers and widen the mouth of the Mithi River.

I see no evidence that any major city investment has taken climate change impacts into account though all our roads and rail links are at sea level. And we are now planning to build the Navi Mumbai Airport on mangroves and mudflats, starting below sea level.

Why is this unacceptable to environmentalists?
Building an airport below sea level will inevitably cause the tidal-rain water combine to spill over into low-lying areas of Navi Mumbai on the one hand and Sewri and its precincts on the other. Perhaps we wish to recreate Venice?

Can this be prevented before it's too late?
Mumbaikars will probably suffer infrastructure breakdowns of biblical proportions in the days ahead, unless the second phase of coastal connectors from Worli onwards, all the way around Colaba and then back through the docks are designed keeping in mind projected tidal waves and cyclone assessments.

What are your thoughts on the West Island Freeway system?
The West Island Freeway will end up destroying Mumbai, unless it is fully designed and implemented as a circular link road. All that piece-meal construction will do is to force motorists hurry up (over flyovers) and wait (at exit points). If someone needs a triple bypass, its little use saying to the doctor, I have only got enough money to unclog one artery right now!

But Mumbai's planners are too blinkered to understand simple logic. They are not interested in any traffic solutions unless such solutions deliver projects valued at thousands of crores.

What is worse, they are ignoring all the advice of global infrastructure experts, who advocate building all-new infrastructure with inbuilt safeguards against extreme climatic events. Mumbai is being straddled with white elephant designs (like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link-Mithi flaw), all of which will need massive spending in the future to rectify basic defects.

What can we, as citizens, do and what can we demand of out the government in order to mitigate such problems.
1) Assert our rights to futuristic solution that not only reduce traffic but improve air quality.
2) Recognise that walking is the best public transport and create world class, tree-shaded footpaths with benches, and drinking water fountains across Mumbai.
3) Dramatically enhance investments in bus and rail transportation. Air-condition these services and bus-train-car parks, taxi bays-walking paths.
4) Raise entry and road taxes for private, non-resident vehicles after studying zones and offer FSI incentives for car park construction.
5) Create no-car pedestrian plazas from Churchgate to Nariman Point (from Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk to Madam Cama Road) and VT to Kala Ghoda (along DN Road up to Flora Fountain). Other city zones should similarly be identified in consultation with local citizens.

Or should it not be built at all?
Only when the simplest, most logical options - decongestion taxes coupled with multistory car parks, widened footpaths, world-class train and bus services - have weaned say 10% of all motorists to opt for public transport, should we even think of investing in new flyovers.