Wait gets longer as coastal panel sends plan to MoEF

U P S Madan, Metropolitan Commissioner at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), said, “We didn’t anticipate that the proposal will be sent to the MoEF. We were expecting an approval from CZMA itself. The MCZMA meeting took place in August. We were waiting for the minutes of the meeting to be out before beginning work.”

The 1.6-km elevated connector will start from G-block in BKC and terminate at the Eastern Express Highway near Somaiya Ground. The four-lane road will cross the Mithi River, LBS Marg, Central Railway line, Duncan Causeway road, Chunabhatti bus terminus, suburban harbour line and Somaiya Ground.

The project requires an environment clearance as the alignment partly falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone. The Rs 156-crore project will  involve the construction of five pillars in the Mithi River.

An official from the environment department said projects of a higher value were typically recommended to the MoEF for approval.

In a set of conditions, MCZMA has also recommended setting up of solar-based air-cleaning systems or a virtual wind generator to be installed across 500 metres in residential areas along the corridor’s alignment.

The project was recently accorded an in-principle clearance from the Central Railway as it involves crossing the suburban railway line.

The elevated road has been planned to make the business district of BKC more accessible from the eastern suburbs, Navi Mumbai and Thane, and thus reduce congestion on the Sion-Dharavi Link Road and the Kalanagar junction.

At present, it takes over 30 minutes to travel from the Eastern Express Highway in Sion to BKC. The elevated road, which will take approximately three years to be ready after work begins, will reduce the travel time to around five minutes.

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