MUMBAI: A 24-acre Bandra Reclamation plot near the sea link toll plaza on which commercial development has been proposed “is completely out” of the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and can be developed, the Union environment ministry and Adani Realty said in Bombay HC last week in response to two PILs challenging the allotment of the land to the developer.
The PILs, filed by activist Zoru Bhathena and Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Organisation, said environmental clearance was granted for Bandra-Worli Sea Link under the condition that reclaimed land near it and the toll plaza would not be used for commercial purposes. They said the tender process for land allotment flouted this rider, adding that CRZ regulations do not permit such development on reclaimed land.
Last Oct, senior counsel Milind Sathe, representing MSRDC that has been made a party to the PILs, said since Mahim creek is classified as a bay, the land in question isn’t within the CRZ. In a bay area, the CRZ applicability is restricted to 100m as opposed to 500m from the sea.
The Adani affidavit denied all “averments, insinuations” in Bhathena’s PIL. Seeking the PIL’s dismissal on the grounds of being “premature”, it sought correction of the facts “obfuscated to mislead HC”. It said the PIL proceeded on an entirely incorrect and misconceived basis, adding that the land “is now completely out of the CRZ zone on account of various supervening circumstances”.
The affidavit said a report submitted in Oct 2024 by Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai, based on MSRDC’s plea “clearly confirms that the project site falls outside CRZ as per the approved the CZMP (coastal zone management plan)”.
Sathe said any construction would be undertaken only after all necessary permissions under the environment impact assessment notification are obtained. The Adani affidavit said the MSRDC tender floated last Jan “has anyway set out that all statutory clearances for development” shall be obtained by the successful bidder.
Adani Realty said the plot is not reserved for any open space, park or garden in Development Plan 2034 and is free for development, as evidenced in replies from MSRDC and Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority.
The Union ministry reiterated its Dec 5, 2024, affidavit and added that the plot falls out of the purview of the CRZ area under the 2019 CRZ notification, which superseded previous notifications.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre directed other authorities who are yet to file their affidavits to do so.
