If there were any doubts about the proposed coastal road project (CRP) damaging marine life in the city, various reports by consultants as well as those presented before the Bombay High Court (HC) clear any ambiguity on these.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made elaborate plans to reclaim 90 hectares of land for the project, but just 20 hectares is being utilised for constructing the coastal road. The remaining 70 hectares is being developed as parks, cycle tracks, a promenade, butterfly parks and bus depots among others.
The HC recently quashed the Coastal Regulation Zone clearances granted to the project and restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from constructing the road before taking the requisite environment approvals.
Perhaps one of the most damning verdicts comes from Frischmann Prabhu, one of the consultants hired by the State to assess the feasibility of the project.
The Hindu takes a look at the specific damage spelt out by the reports before the HC.
Impact on ecosystem
In all its ambitious planning, the BMC chose to ignore the impact the coastal road would have on marine ecology, despite STUP and Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and Ernst & Young Pvt. Ltd. highlighting this in their Environmental Impact Assessment report.
The suspension of fine sediments in the water column will create turbidity, which may potentially affect the growth of plants by reducing the availability of light and the photosynthetic process, say the reports. Further, the PH levels of water may increase, causing imbalance in the ecosystem.
The reports say the immediate and long-term effect will be the degradation of sensitive and essential breeding and nursery habitats of coastal and marine organisms, which could lead to long-term reductions of commercially important species.
‘Project to hit livelihoods’
A public interest litigation filed by non-governmental organisation Vanshakti oposing the project relied on a report titled, ‘Social Ecology of the Shallow Seas: A Report on the Impacts of Coastal Reclamation on Artisan Fishing in the Worli Fishing Zone’, submitted in March 2019. The report documented artisanal fishing in Worli and the impact of coastal reclamation on it. It is prepared by experts from the Collective for Spatial Alternatives and supported by the Human Rights Law Network.
According to this report, coastal reclamation and construction activity in the foreshore and near shore areas of Worli will irreversibly damage the coastal ecosystem.
The report said that in the fishing waters of Worli Koliwada, large numbers of fish come to the shallow seas for shelter in the rocks and crevices and to breed or lay eggs. The reclamation will destroy the fish breeding ground, substantially affecting the productivity of the entire coastal belt. It will affect the livelihood of the fishing community as they rely on the intertidal species at the rocky shores for fishing. Specifically, it will diminish the practice of artisanal fishing, it said.
The BMC, however, had told the HC that the alignment of the South Coastal Road does not extend to Worli Koliwada and therefore, even if the protected species are found in the inter tidal waters in that area, they would remain unaffected.
The corporation also said, “The corals in Worli area are spotted in the route of the proposed project activity and keeping in mind the quantity of corals, translocation of these species is possible in a suitable habitat area. This will lead to conserving the corals at the proposed project sites.”
Species’ under threat
In March 2019, the Marine Biodiversity Report titled, ‘Observations of the Intertidal Marine Biodiversity in Worli’s Rocky shores’ was released by a group of marine biologists documenting intertidal marine biodiversity of the Worli shore where the work of reclamation for the CRP has begun.
The team observed and documented 36 species of intertidal marine biodiversity during low tide. The study clearly says the proposed project presents a direct threat to the habitat and survival of the species that thrive on these rocky shores for survival, breeding and nesting.
It was also observed that the ongoing reclamation includes dumping of non-oceanic red mud that will suffocate fragile species like crabs and octopuses who have known to live in burrows of intertidal rocks. This report recommends that there is an urgent need to conduct research into the species’ unique characteristics.
‘Smothering of fish’
The environment impact assessment report by consultant Ernst & Young in August 2016 said the tunnel construction for the CRP will need formation of sediment plumes, which may affect fish because of the smothering and clogging effect of highly turbid waters on their gills, the inability to detect predators and the limiting of the photosynthetic process in plants.
The living habitats and micro habitats of marine flora and fauna will be destroyed and it will have an impact on fisheries due to the mortality and migration of fish from the area under construction.
It says, “Reclamation may cause a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels and may result in mortality of organisms. It may cause nutrient imbalance and result in algal blooms.” During construction, it says, there will be an increase in trampling on rocky shores, which will directly affect intertidal organisms. Noise may affect the intertidal and nearby habitat and disturb the movement patterns of certain organisms.
Whether the BMC takes any of these red flags into consideration remains to be seen.
