Mumbai: Facing criticism from environment protection activists over the implementation of some of the city’s big-ticket coastal projects, the State government has appointed the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to study the impact of its plans on the marine ecosystem.
Infrastructure projects worth an estimated Rs. 70,000 crore are in the launching stage, and likely to be flagged off with an eye on the civic polls next year. However, many of these continue to face the ire of environmentalists, who allege irreparable damage to marine ecology due to land reclamation and construction along the coast as part of project planning and construction, officials said.
Goa-based NIO will survey coastal projects including the Rs. 13,000-crore Mumbai Coastal Road, the Rs. 12,000-crore Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which is expected to cost Rs. 16,000 crore, among others. Its experts will study the impact of projects and resulting land reclamation and damage to coastal flora and fauna, if any, from big projects. “We have already finalised the scope of their work, and have finalised the release of the first instalment on Thursday for work to begin,” a senior official said.
This is not the first survey in Mumbai for NIO, which is already conducting a magnetic survey of navigational channels in Mumbai Harbour, a marine impact study for a proposed oil berth at Jawahar Dweep, demarcation of the high tide line (HTL) under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) for construction of schools and colleges on Yari Road. “The preparations for the Mumbai study on land reclamation have already begun,” an official said.
