Excerpt from Mumbai Mirror, reported by By Alka Shukla on May 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Metro’s second phase from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra covering 32 km, is likely to get delayed as it struggles with clearances at several levels. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of Ministry of Environment and Forests has refused to give it a clearance in its present form.
It has suggested ‘deferring’ the project, redirecting it to Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for a clear recommendation from them first.
The problem
Car depots on both ends of the elevated corridor fall in mangrove areas. While the maintenance depot proposed at Charkop is on 19.69 hectares, the one in Mankhurd is around 24 hectares.
Because some parts of the proposed project fall in Coastal Regulatory Zone I, a no -development zone, MMRDA had referred the project to MCZMA earlier for clearance from where the project was sent to the EAC.
But the EAC found the MCZMA’s recommendations unclear and remarked that MCZMA had in fact identified the ‘proposed activities’ of the metro project as falling in CRZ I. Construction in this zone is not permissible under CRZ notification of 1991.
