Tirupati Balaji temple row: NGT seeks response from MCZMA, forest dept

The National Green Tribunal has asked the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority to provide details on the construction of a temple in Ulwe, Maharashtra, which environmentalists claim has violated coastal regulation zone rules. The tribunal has issued notices to the authority and the forest department, and the next hearing is scheduled for January 12.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought to know from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the chief conservator of forests about the status of the construction of a Tirupati Balaji temple at Ulwe, a project which environmentalists alleged violated coastal regulation zone (CRZ) rules.

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The western zonal bench of NGT was hearing an application filed by environmentalist and NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar on Tuesday.

Kumar’s counsel Ronita Bhattacharya said MCZMA had at its 167th meeting held on May 23 recommended CRZ nod for the project without considering the fact that the temple plot was part of a temporary casting yard which had come up after destruction of mangroves on more than 16 hectares.

In a press release issued in April last year CIDCO had admitted that the Balaji temple plot was part of the casting yard set up for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL). The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which is building MTHL, had agreed to vacate 10 acres for the temple by September 2023, the release said.

This fact was kept hidden from MCZMA, Kumar alleged in his plea.

As per the minutes of the MCZMA meeting, CIDCO and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam had submitted that of the 40,000 square metres required for the temple, 2,748.18 square metres fell under CRZ1A and 25,656.58 square metres under CRZ2 while 11,595 square metres were outside the CRZ purview, the plea said.

Though MCZMA permitted construction on only the non-CRZ area, Bhattacharya argued that there was nothing on record to show that MCZMA’s recommendation was based on the mandatory final clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority.

When Kumar filed an RTI query on the issue, the environment department merely directed him to the MCZMA minutes, the plea claimed.

Bhattacharya also quoted the forest department’s on-the-spot inspection report which confirmed that the plot allocated for the temple was originally a wetland. The inspection report mentioned the presence of mangroves within 40-45 metres of the temple plot and a fishing pond, he said.

The NGT Bench – comprising justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Vijay Kulkarni – said, “We find that so far only recommendation appears to have been made by MCZMA for granting permission for construction of the said temple. But it is admitted by the learned counsel for the applicant that no CRZ clearance had been given for raising the temple’s construction.”

The bench issued notices to MCZMA and the forest department, directing them to file their replies within two weeks. The next hearing will be held on January 12.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on June 7 performed the groundbreaking ceremony when havan kunds were also built to mark the beginning of the temple construction.

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