The road will be the fourth east to the west connector of the city after Ghodbandar (Borivali-Thane), Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road.
The Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), one of the ambitious road projects of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which will connect eastern and western suburbs through Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) have got clearance from the National Wildlife Board (NWB) on Monday. This was a crucial step in the construction of the Rs 4000 crore mega project which will run from Goregaon to Mulund via two underground parallel tunnels of 4.7 km in SGNP.
The road will be the fourth east to the west connector of the city after Ghodbandar (Borivali-Thane), Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. Though the project is important for vehicular connectivity and will reduce travel time, there was a possibility of disturbance to wildlife due to the underground tunnels in SGNP. Thus, the project needed permissions from the state forest department and NWB. The civic body applied for permission on January 29 and the proposal was tabled on Monday.
Confirming the same, one of the members of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) standing committee said, "Since the proposal did not involve construction above the ground in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), the NBWL cleared the project immediately."
The clearance, however, comes with a few conditions. Another member of the committee said that a slew of conditions was recommended while clearing the project. While the details of all conditions could not be ascertained, the NBWL has directed the BMC to build animal passages inside the park and in the Aarey Colony forest, which is part of the park's ESZ.
"We were hopeful about the NWB permission. The tunnels will be constructed underground. A new force ventilation technology will be used for tunnels, as a result, there will be no outlets for ventilation above the ground. Thus, it will not disturb wildlife," said an officer from the BMC. The minutes of the NWB is yet to come. The BMC had approached the state forest department in December, however, it is yet to receive written permission from it.
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