MUMBAI: The MMRDA has been told to rework the route of the proposed Balkum-to-Anandnagar (Mulund east) coastal road that would cut through the flamingo sanctuary in the Thane creek and also endanger 3,754 mangroves on 2.72 hectares of forest land, according to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).
MMRDA had, in fact, anticipated clearance for the Elevated Thane Coastal Road (Phase-II) from Balkum to Anandnagar, and is building a six-lane extension to the Eastern Freeway, from Ghatkopar to Thane, that will connect to the proposed coastal road. The idea is that traffic bound for Kalyan, Nashik and other places north of MMR bypass Thane city. The MCZMA has also instructed MMRDA to submit a report on complaints it had received concerning the proposal. Why do they need one more? TMC has already destroyed mangroves from Thane to Bhiwandi. However, alternatives at the interchanges have been considered and presented to the MCZMA.
The stand taken by the MCZMA, whose go-ahead is critical to the project, is a setback for the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), which submitted its proposal to the coastal authority on August 11.
Environmentalist D Stalin of NGO Vanshakti said, “The MMRDA has built many coastal roads in Thane. Now they propose to destroy even more.’’ An MMRDA official said it will be almost impossible to alter the route as it aligns with the road notified in the Development Plan of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC). Moreover, the official said, the proposed road would be a continuation of the Thane Coastal Road (Phase I) and integrates with critical regional master-plan links like the proposed Kopri-Patni bridge, proposed Eastern Freeway Extension at Anand Nagar, and the Eastern Express Highway (EEH). Deviating from this master-plan alignment would break regional connectivity and fail to relieve traffic bottlenecks between Thane and Mumbai, he said.
