Proposed Vadhavan expressway link raises ecological concerns

In its proposal to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the MSRDC said the 106km greenfield highway will require 1,715 hectares of land, including 212 hectares of forest land. The project also includes 12km of tunnels along the alignment.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) proposed expressway linking the upcoming Vadhavan Port and offshore airport with the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will pass through the Dahanu Eco-Sensitive Area, according to documents submitted for environmental clearance.

Proposed Vadhavan expressway link raises ecological concerns

In its proposal to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the MSRDC said the 106km greenfield highway will require 1,715 hectares of land, including 212 hectares of forest land. The project also includes 12km of tunnels along the alignment.

The proposed route will begin at Tawa near Kasa on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and connect with the Samruddhi Expressway at Bharvir Khurd, near Igatpuri.

According to the proposal, the alignment passes through eight villages falling within ecologically sensitive areas. Seven villages are covered under the draft Western Ghats notification, while one lies within the Dahanu Eco-Sensitive Area, notified by the Centre in 1991.

The alignment also passes through heavily forested stretches in the Jawhar-Mokhada region. Around 15km of the route is estimated to pass through forests, though detailed Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and forest verification are still pending. While the MSRDC has sought environmental clearance, it has not disclosed the number of trees likely to be affected by the project.

The proposed alignment is also located about 10 km from the eco-sensitive zone of the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary.

Defending the alignment, the MSRDC said it had evaluated three options before selecting the present route, which it said optimises the geometry of the expressway while reducing dependence on existing roads and enabling a fully access-controlled, high-speed corridor. The project, it said, will provide seamless connectivity between the Vadhavan Port Road and the Samruddhi Expressway, ensuring faster and uninterrupted freight movement.

The ₹25 crore, six-lane project is also expected to attract domestic and foreign investment, boost industrial productivity, strengthen the Palghar-Nashik automotive manufacturing belt, create jobs, reduce distress migration and support the growth of IT and service industries, the proposal said.

Environmentalists, however, have raised objections.

Debi Goenka, executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust, told Hindustan Times that the proposal violated the Dahanu Eco-Sensitive Area notification of 1991, which prohibits changes in land use involving forests, tribal-owned land and orchards.

“Even projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway violate this notification. The matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court. The authorities entrusted with protecting Dahanu are failing to do so. Public consultations are either not held or local residents are not informed,” Goenka said.