Flip-flop: Govt goes back to sea link plan

The state government seems to have shelved its plan to build a coastal road from Bandra to Versova after Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh snubbed the idea.

The state government seems to have shelved its plan to build a coastal road from Bandra to Versova after Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh snubbed the idea.

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The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), on Friday, moved a proposal before the state's coastal body to build a 9-km sea link from Bandra to Versova.

The state’s coastal body, Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZ-MA), has asked the MSRDC to first seek clearance from the cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure before seeking the environmental nod. It also asked the MSRDC to submit detailed CRZ maps of the proposed alignment.

“The sea link aligment doesn’t pose a problem for environment clearance as it is a permissible activity in the new CRZ,” said a bureaucrat and member of the MCZMA.

According to sources, the MSRDC has put the coastal road proposal on the backburner after Ramesh’s disapproval. Ramesh, who had met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and a team of state officials, had challenged the premise that a coastal road is the most cost effective option and had asked officials to study the per km cost of other options (see box).