New Delhi: The Union government has initiated plans to permit the construction of roads on land reclaimed from the sea. The move, which helps ambitious projects such as the Rs.9,000-crore Mumbai coastal road planned to ease urban transit, has alarmed activists who have flagged likely harm to the local ecology.
On Monday, the environment ministry published a draft notification to amend the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2011 on its website. The ministry has sought comments, objections and suggestions from stakeholders on the issue within the next two months.
Current rules do permit the construction of such roads on stilts erected on the seabed; the notification, if it takes final shape, will also permit such construction on reclaimed land. India has a long coast line of 7,500km.
An environment ministry official, who requested anonymity, said the move will be highly beneficial for state governments in developing roads in coastal areas. Reclaimed land is new land created from oceans, riverbeds and lakebeds. “Road on stilts is already allowed. But the main objective of the draft notification is to allow construction of roads on the reclaimed land. It would be a huge step for the authorities in states,” the official said. The Mumbai coastal road is proposed to be built, in parts, on stilts, reclaimed land and underground tunnels. On 8 June, Mint reported that the project received in-principle clearance from the environment ministry. It is one of the largest infrastructure projects planned for the financial capital.
The draft notification, however, said that it would only be allowed “provided that such roads shall not be authorised for permitting development on landward side of such roads till existing high tide line”.
The draft notification also said that, “construction of road by way of reclamation in CRZ area shall be only in exceptional cases, to be recommended by the concerned Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) and approved by (the environment ministry)”.
The ministry also made a provision for conservation of mangroves, which could be affected during the construction of such roads. It said that “in case the construction of such road is passing through mangroves or likely to damage the mangroves, three times the number of mangroves destroyed or cut during the construction process shall be replanted”.
Activists said development of roads on reclaimed land will damage the environment.
“The major issue with this proposed amendment is that the moment land is reclaimed, the tidal flow is disturbed. Argument of reclaiming without disturbing tidal flow is flawed. Also, one needs to understand is for whom these roads are intended. Whether it is for public or for large infrastructure projects along the coastline like ports, power projects, nuclear projects,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal research director, of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-Namati Environmental Justice Program.
According to a recent CPR report, performance of CZMAs across nine states—Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Odisha—has been dismal from the environmental conservation point of view. The report, released last month, said over 80% of 4,030 projects were cleared by state CZMAs during 1999-2014.
“The other big issue is that the Coastal Zone Management Authority rarely rejects projects. There are hardly any exceptional cases where permission is denied. Lastly, afforestation of mangroves is a fallacy. Firstly, afforestation never happens and secondly, if that happens, then by the time new mangroves plantation is ready in four to five years, that gets marked for another developmental project for expanding infrastructure,” Kohli added.
