500-acre plot in Goregaon turned from CRZ1 to ‘open land’

This has sparked concerns over attempts to open the area for commercial development, as has been done by private developers in the past

Mumbai: Nearly 500 acres of land near Malad Creek have been removed from the ambit of the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) in the updated Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Greater Mumbai prepared as per the provisions of the CRZ Notification (2019).

The plot in question, owned by the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Group and the Usha Madhu Development Cooperative Housing Society in Goregaon East’s Pahadi village, was a CRZ-1 area in the earlier version of the CZMP, prepared as per the provisions of the CRZ Notification (2011) (Praful Gangurde)

This has sparked concerns over attempts to open the area for commercial development, as has been done by private developers in the past.

The plot in question, owned by the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Group and the Usha Madhu Development Cooperative Housing Society in Goregaon East’s Pahadi village, was a CRZ-1 area in the earlier version of the CZMP, prepared as per the provisions of the CRZ Notification (2011). It was also considered for accommodating the Metro 3 car shed in 2020. A portion has also been reserved for the Maharashtra National Law University.

The new CZMPs for Maharashtra were drafted in 2019 by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management under the Union environment ministry, and released on February 24, after they were approved by the National Coastal Zone Management Authority in September 2021.

“It is very surprising that such a large plot of land, which was earlier classified CRZ-1, is now being show as ‘Open/Vacant Land’ with no explanation, as if development restrictions do not apply,” said Debi Goenka, executive trustee, Conservation Action Trust (CAT), who pointed out that majority of the land had also been classified as No Development Zone under the BMC’s Development Control Regulations 1991.

“As early as 1997, the plot was covered in mangroves, which were later destroyed by 1999 for the purpose of building a golf course and some 400 bungalows on one-acre plots. Despite the environment ministry ordering action against this violation, and restoration of the land, nothing has been done by the state government.”

A state government committee later claimed that there has been no destruction of mangroves on the plot between 2005 and 2018, Goenka added.

An official in the MCZMA responded saying, “I am not immediately able to recall the details. We will have to compare the two maps and see. The only major change we have made in the updated CZMP is with respect to the No Development Zone along mudflats, creeks and intertidal water bodies, where the NDZ area ends at 50 metres from the high-tide line, instead of 100 metres earlier.”

Environmentalists pointed out that the updated CZMP maps have been developed at a scale of 1:25,000, instead of the 1:4,000 resolution required for planning authorities.

“Without detailed maps, it is not possible for any citizen, decision-maker or even a judge to figure out what is the situation as depicted in the CZMP as compared to ground reality,” Goenka pointed out.

The updated CZMPs have also been criticised for failing to distinguish between various CRZ IA areas, which are identified as being most ecologically sensitive, such mangroves, beaches, creeks, mudflats and so on). The new maps club categories together under a single head, instead of differentiating them. Similarly, CRZ IB categories have also been combined and there is no differentiation between beaches, rocky outcrops and intertidal zones in Mumbai.