Show us proof of CRZ nod, NGT tells maritime board on Aksa Beach seawall

NAVI MUMBAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) to produce papers relating to the CRZ nod that it claims to have received for constructing a seawall at Aksa Beach in Madh

NAVI MUMBAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) to produce papers relating to the CRZ nod that it claims to have received for constructing a seawall at Aksa Beach in Madh.

Mumbai, India - May 24, 2023: National Green Tribunal (NGT) asks Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) to show proof of Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) nod for the construction of sea wall at Aksa Beach, at Malad (West), Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (HT PHOTO) (Hindustan Times)

Taking up an application filed by NatConnect Foundation director BN Kumar and Mumbai-based activist Zoru Bathena, the Tribunal’s Western Bench in Pune noted that the applicants raised objections to the sea wall in the middle of the beach in violation of CRZ norms.

Applicants advocate Ronita Bhattacharya has quoted extensively from the minutes of the Maharashtra Coastal Regulation Authority (MCZMA) which had clearly barred any construction on the CRZ1 area in response to the MMB’s applications in different forms for “seafront development and beautification” of the beach.

Bhattacharya also argued for halting the project and the appointment of an expert committee with scientists from the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) to study the extent of damage to the intertidal areas of the beach.

The applicants said despite their repeated efforts and RTI applications, they could not obtain the purported CRZ clearance documents from the State Environment Department.

One NatConnect’s complaint, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Control (MOEFCC) had even asked the State Environment Department to look into the issue and report. Yet, there was no response, the application said.

The MMB finally informed the government that it appointed an internal committee to check compliances with the seawall and even this report was not shared with the complainants.

The bench – comprising justice Dinesh Kumar Singh as judicial member and Dr Vijay Kulkarni as the expert member – on Friday asked the MMB’s lawyer Saket Mone to produce all papers related to the CRZ clearances and the environmental impact study undertaken by the board before taking up the construction. Earlier, Mone said his client had all the necessary clearances. The next hearing is posted for July 3.

Bhattacharya said, “The seawall project is anti-nature as it was built in the ecologically fragile Aksa dividing the beach into two parts. MMB deployed heavy machinery such as JCBs for excavation and stacked a lot of material on the beach.”

She pointed out that a six-member NGT special bench headed by chairperson justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had imposed a ban on the seawalls on beaches across all the states and union territories. The special bench in its verdict in April last year said that a hybrid solution – with beach nourishment and reefs -- as suggested by NIOT could be implemented. Justice Goel’s special bench also mandated the States to prepare detailed coastal zone management plans.