Centre approves new MCZMA committee

There has been an immense delay in forming the new MCZMA committee, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed displeasure with the delay, said sources

MUMBAI: After eight months, the central government has approved the new Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). It had earlier rejected two panels that the state had suggested. There has been an immense delay in forming the new MCZMA committee, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has expressed displeasure with the delay, said sources.

Picture of Versova coast line (Picture by Yogesh Naik)

The last meeting regarding this matter was held on December 10 and 11 under the tenure of Pravin Darade, Principal Secretary of the Environment Department. Since the earlier MCZMA committee’s tenure had expired, Vinita Vaid Singhal, who headed the environment department, had recommended names. However, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests informed the State Environment Department that those who had worked in MCZMA for two terms could not be part of it again. Finally, a new list was sent, and the notification was issued on Monday.

More than 165 projects are awaiting clearance, said sources, with some having been cleared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), and other government organisations. Projects that fall under the purview of the Coastal Regulation Zone of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, have to take clearance from the MCZMA before commencing work. This includes projects in the coastal areas of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg.

The new committee will be headed by Jayashree Bhoj, the secretary of the environment department. It will comprise the additional chief secretary of revenue and urban development, secretary of the ministry of industries, fisheries commissioner, the additional principal chief conservator of forests (mangrove cell), BMC commissioner, director of Mumbai Research of Central Marine Fisheries Research, and member secretary of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. It will also include Dr Lakshmipura Revanasiddappa Ranganath, ex-scientist of Central Water and Power Research Station, Dr Milind Madhav Sardesai, head of the botany department at the Savitribai Phule Pune University, and Dr Amit Ratanlal Bansiwal, chief scientist at the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). Aneesh Andheria from the Wildlife Conservation Trust and chairperson of the Bombay Natural History Society will be a member. The director of the environment will be the member secretary. A senior officer of the environment department said the next meeting will be held next week.

Dhaval Ajmera, secretary of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, said, “We are very happy that the new committee has been formed. It was long overdue. I hope that the meetings will be held fast for quicker decisions.’’