CRZ clearance process for coastal road project to begin this weekend

With more than 54 per cent of the coastal road passing through Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has informed that the process of seeking CRZ clearance for the project is slated to begin by this weekend

With more than 54 per cent of the coastal road passing through Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has informed that the process of seeking CRZ clearance for the project is slated to begin by this weekend.

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Around 7.29km of the 13.43km road comes under CRZ while 10ha of mangroves will be affected. The 13km coastal road from Kharegaon to Gaimukh will divert the goods traffic on Ghodbunder from Gujarat and JNPT.

The corporation has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for further approval. The cost of the entire road is ₹1,251Cr and MMRDA will be funding the project.

The proposed road is 40m in width and has a 500m tunnel with an open sky ramp. The total length of the tunnel with the ramp is 1.24km.

A TMC officer said, “Out of the 13.43km, we already have acquired 2.27km of land and need to acquire 10.71km. Out of this 10.71km, 1.9km is forest land and has around 10ha of mangroves. As per the CRZ norms, we will be acquiring a non-forest land equivalent to the mangrove area for compensatory afforestation against the mangroves that will be affected. Moreover, the entire road that passes through CRZ will be constructed as an elevated corridor to minimise the damage to the environment.”

As per the DPR, 6.14km of the road is outside CRZ, 2.87km is in CRZ 2, 2.51 km in CRZ mangrove buffer zone and 1.91km in CRZ 1.

The officer added, “We will send the proposal to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management authority for the CRZ clearance by the weekend while the land acquisition process will also begin.”