Environmentalists have welcomed the Supreme Court’s (SC) refusal to stay the Bombay High Court order that quashed the coastal regulation zone clearance given for the Coastal Road project.
Larsen and Toubro, and a Hindustan Construction Company-Housing Development Corporation joint venture moved SC contending that the raw material for construction was already on the site, and the monsoon would ruin it. The SC refused interim relief and said it will hear the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on August 20.
“It seems that the SC has more-or-less upheld the fact that this project could not have been given clearance. We are very happy that irrevocable damage has been stopped, and continues to be stopped,” said Debi Goenka, executive trustee, Conservation Action Trust, who is also one of the petitioners before the HC.
Environmental activist Hussain Indorewala said, “We are glad the SC stood by the HC judgment as it is a very nuanced one.” The judgement, he said, covers a range of issues, “which are not only environmental or procedural but reflect on whether project priorities, not considering public transport alternatives, the environmental cost of the project, are in the public interest or not.”
Local residents were equally pleased about the SC order. Harishchandra Nakhwa, a fisherman from Worli Koliwada said, “This is a great move for the fishermen community. We are hopeful that justice will be delivered.”
On July 17, the HC quashed the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority’s approval granted on January 4, 2017, the approval granted by the expert appraisal committee on March 17, 2017 and the final approval granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest on May, 11, 2017. The court said, “We declare that the BMC cannot proceed with the works without obtaining environmental clearance under the environmental impact assessment notification.”
