HC strikes down MCZMA nod for Versova sea link casting yard in Mumbai

The court declared the MCZMA clearance illegal and said that “under the garb of ancillary activities, land cannot be reclaimed.”

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) plans to build the Bandra-Versova sea link suffered a setback on Friday when the Bombay high court (HC) struck down the clearance granted by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for a casting yard at Juhu Koliwada. The court declared the MCZMA clearance illegal and said that “under the garb of ancillary activities, land cannot be reclaimed.”

MSRDC is developing a 9.6km-long Bandra-Versova Sea Link as part of the eastern freeway, seeking to connect South Mumbai with suburban Kandivli. (HT File)

On February 26, 2019, MCZMA had accorded approval to build a casting yard at Juhu Koliwada. Following this, the Mumbai suburban district collector had handed over possession of 78,392.12 square metres of the sandy beach to MSRDC.

A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar struck down the permission for the yard on the ground that it violates the guidelines of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The bench was hearing a petition by activist Zoru Bhathena, who had challenged the MCZMA’s approval on the grounds that the casting yard was on the seaward side of existing development and therefore could not be permitted. Bhathena claimed that under the CRZ Notification of 2011, CRZ-II “buildings” are permitted only on the landward side of an existing road or existing structures authorised by CRZ-II. MSRDC argued that the yard came under Regulation 3 of the CRZ Notification of 2011 which permits land reclamation for setting up sea links.

The bench accepted petitioner’s contention that the regulation was being violated. “If we draw a line perpendicular to the yard, we fail to see a road or a building towards the seaward side of the imaginary line,” the bench said. It also said that though the yard would be temporary, “the footprints left by the yard after the machinery brought to site is removed and temporary structures are removed on completion of the work, would be of permanent and lasting nature, adversely impacting the coastal stretch in question.”

MSRDC is developing a 9.6km-long Bandra-Versova Sea Link as part of the eastern freeway, seeking to connect South Mumbai with suburban Kandivli.