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Times of India · 1 day ago
Versova sealink gets green nod
Published : Mar 6, 2017, 6:09 am IST
Updated : Mar 6, 2017, 6:40 am IST
National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2015 had directed MSRDC to get a separate environmental clearance.
National Green Tribunal
Mumbai: In a major boost for the proposed
nine-km-long Bandra Versova Sealink (BVSL), the state environment
department has granted environment clearance for construction of the Sea
Link to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The plan of a sealink between Bandra and Versova was revived after
scrapping the construction of a coastal road between Bandra and Versova
following strong opposition from environmentalists and locals of Bandra,
Juhu and the fishermen of surrounding areas. Thus, the sealink now
becomes a part of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC)
ambitious plan to construct a coastal road connecting southern and
northern ends of the city.
Kiran Kurundkar, joint managing director, MSRDC, said, “We have
received the approval letter from the state environment department a
week ago and with this we already have the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) in
hand. Also, the evaluation of the bids for the construction of the
project is currently ongoing.”
The MSRDC already has the CRZ clearance for the project from the MoEF
that is valid up to 2018. However, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in
2015 had directed MSRDC to get a separate environmental clearance,
indicating that mere CRZ clearance was not enough.
“The mitigation measures have to be taken by the corporation for
which the environment clearance has been awarded. It includes like that
of following norms of air, water and noise pollution along with
plantation in accordance to the Environment Protection Act. After this,
we would also need clearance from the forest department that would be
obtained next,” said a senior MSRDC official.
The MSRDC has set a deadline of 2020 to complete the project with an
estimated cost of Rs 7,500 crore. The corporation is in the process to
avail financial assistance for the same from national banks or by
monetising the 5.6-km-long Bandra Worli Sealink (BWSL). The eight-lane
project will be built 900 metres into the sea. It was proposed earlier
as the Western Express Highway and SV Road were saturated.
related old news
related old news
Maharashtra drops sea-links for Mumbai, opts for coastal road
To be developed on partially reclaimed land and stilt between Nariman Point & Kandivli
Sanjay Jog | Mumbai
June 17, 2014 Last Updated at 00:41 IST
Mumbaikars can now expect a pollution free ride along the western coast
as the Maharashtra government has submitted its proposal to the Centre
to construct 35 km coastal road between Nariman Point and Kandivli in
the western suburb. The project, with about 18 access points along the
entire road, entails an investment of Rs 8,000 crore. The government
will soon appoint the state run Maharashtra State Road Development
Corporation (MSRDC) or the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as
the nodal agency for the project which will be implemented through a
joint venture route.
Chief Minister
Prithviraj Chavan admitted that the
sea linkproject
was not financially viable and therefore the six lane coastal road has
been proposed. The project envisages reclamation of land and
construction of stilts especially on mangrove patches. Chavan informed
that he has submitted the coastal road project proposal to minister of
state for environment and forests Prakash Jawadekar during latter's
recent visit in the city.
With Chavan's announcement, the government has given a silent burial to
the Rs 5,000 crore Worli-Haji Ali sea link project awarded to the
Reliance Infrastructure. The concession agreement was signed between
MSRDC and
Reliance Infrastructure in June 2010 but the project could not take off
due to administrative and environmental issues. Reliance Infrastructure
will exit from the project. However, the state government has yet to
formally scrap the project which would have completed by now.
Sushil Jiwarajka, former chairman of FICCI's western region told
Business Standard ''Given the acute shortage of land for expanding mass
transport system, the idea of coastal road seems to be the most viable
option. Detailed feasibility studies be undertaken at the earliest.
Precious time has already been lost on studying various options and it
it time to take action and complete the project in a time bound
manner.''
However,
a government official said that the costal zone regulation (CRZ)
clearance is key for the project to take off."The possibility of
development of coastal road emerged in February 2011 after the modification
to the Coastal Zone Notification where-in construction of roads on
stilts have been allowed as a permitted activities. Section 3 of CRZ
Notification provides land reclamation as a prohibited activity,'' the
official added.
Incidentally, a section of fishing
community has already voiced their opposition to the coastal road
project. ''The government will have to take the fishing community into
confidence before finalizing the proposed coastal road. There
are 35 fishermen colonies with more than 1 million population on the
western coast. The coastal road will adversely impact the livelihood of
those depending on fishing activity,'' said Damodar Tandel, president, Maharashtra fishermen action forum.
Coastal Road Ride for Mumbaikars
*Project is being considered after the revised CRZ notification issued in February 2011
*Government plans to do away with sea link projects citing financial non viability
*MSRDC or
BMC to be nodal agency
*Project to be developed through JV route
related old news
related old news
related old news
related old news
related old news
COMMENT:
PEOPLE WILL USE METRO 3 FROM COLABA TO ANDHERI
AND CONNECTING METRO FROM ANDHERI TO KANDIVLI
COASTAL ROAD MAY NOT BE USED MUCH FOR DAILY COMMUTE
related old news
The project, that had Kandivali as its proposed end point, now has approvalto be stretched up to Mira Road and beyond
he city’s Coastal Road project just got more ambitious.
The government on Monday approved a significant extension to the 32-km
Coastal Road project up to NH 8 connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
The
project that has Kandivali as its proposed end point now has approval
to be stretched up to Mira Road and further on to NH 8.

Hussain Indorewala, urban planner and assistant professor with Kamla
Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture said, “We are spending
crores of rupees on a project that will cater to only 2% or 3% of the
population. We have well-established public transport, but we are moving
away from it to promote personal transport.”
related old news
Another major
decision taken was to extend the alignment of the 16.8-km Eastern
Freeway by up to three km.
The alignments were
approved on Monday by the Empowered Committee on Mumbai Transformation
headed by Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya, and officials of the MMRDA
and the BMC.
Officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan
Region Development Authority (MMRDA) gave a presentation on extending
the Eastern Freeway, acknowledging it was feasible to extend the freeway
from its current land point at Yellow Gate Junction on Carnac Bunder,
beyond General Post Office (GPO) and ending on Mint Road.
The
MMRDA was assigned the task of studying the feasibility of having an
elevated rail corridor along with an elevated freeway, and find out if
both could be accommodated over P D’mello Road. The authority in its
report concluded that both projects were possible on the stretch
provided land could be acquired from the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).
Currently,
the controlled-access highway connects Express Highway at Ghatkopar to P
D’Mello Road in South Mumbai. “We have approved the MMRDA feasibility
study and directed the MbPT to take up the proposal to extend freeway at
its next board meeting. A presentation to the honourable Chief
Minister, who heads the Urban Development Department, will be given next
month for the final nod,” Mr Kshatriya told
The Hindu
.
“We feel that the advantage acquired by the
commuters while travelling on the freeway is lost at the landing point
and bottlenecks on Carnac Bunder Junction.”
A
presentation on extending the proposed Coastal Road alignment was given
by Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, proposing to extend the project up
to Mira Road and beyond towards NH 8.
The
ambitious coastal road project is estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crore,
and proposes to connect Nariman Point in South Mumbai to far north Malad
and Kandivali. The BMC has proposed a 10-km underground tunnel at two
locations starting from Nariman Point to Priyadarshani Park and from
Juhu to Versova. The road will include 22 interchanges, entry and exit
points, and lanes dedicated to the BRTS.
Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis has already said development and extension of
the integrated corridors in Mumbai is necessary by 2019, while
obtaining clearance for the 22-km MTHL, which will connect Sewri in
South Mumbai to Nhava in Navi Mumbai.
“The tenders
for MTHL will be issued by March and the government wants to extend the
proposed existing freeways. Eventually, all these have to be integrated
for a long-term solution,” said a senior official.
We
have approved the MMRDA feasibility study and directed the MbPT to take
up the proposal to extend the freeway at its next board meeting
Swadheen Kshatriya
COMMENT:-
INSTEAD OF IT BECOMING MUMBAI COASTAL ROAD FOR CARS AND LIGHT VEHICLES ;
IT
WILL BECOME A NEW EXTENSION OF NH8 FROM AHMADABAD TO MUMBAI WITH LOT OF
TRUCKS AND COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC;THROUGH MIRA ROAD TO JUHU BEACH TO MUMBAI
ISLAND CITY ;OR ALL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC HAS TO BE BANNED,FROM MIRA ROAD
TO JUHU BEACH ROAD
WHEN MUMBAI Business ITSELF IS SLOWLY MOVING NORTHWARDS FROM ISLAND CITY TO BANDRA- ANDHERI- MALAD AREA,
IN ANOTHER 10 OR 20 YEARS THIS ROAD MAY NOT BE NEEDED BEYOND KANDIVLI
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Dec 4, 2012 - "I feel the center of Mumbai has moved out of south Mumbai," said Uday ... Today, rents in BKC and Nariman Point are both around 280 rupees a ... Efforts to build a new business district out of an area of former textile mills in ..
timesofindia.indiatimes.com › City
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related old news
First look: Rs 4,300-crore Versova-Bandra Sea Link
Artist’s
impressions of the Versova-Bandra arm of the Sea Link, which in the
future will extend all the way to Nariman Point along Mumbai’s western
coast, shows three entry/exit points on the nine-km stretch, and one
spot for a proposed extension in the future.
The plans, accessed
by Mumbai Mirror, have already received one set of environmental
clearances, and the MSRDC (the nodal agency for the Rs 4,340-crore
project) is now preparing the groundwork for the tender process. The
link runs approximately 900 metres off the coast.
The Maharashtra
Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has cleared the project, and
passed it on to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) with a
recommendation that it be given a final go-ahead.
A marine
geo-technical investigation, to obtain information on the physical
properties of rock and soil on the sea-bed, began in October, and the
MSRDC hopes to begin construction in January, 2014. A five-year deadline
has been set for the project to be completed.
45Minutes that commuters will save, according to MSRDC estimates
14The number of signals you will skip by using the Versova-Bandra Sea Link
1500Metres. The average depth of the superstructure
9.3Kilometers. The (approximate) length of the Versova-Bandra Sea Link
16Kilometers. The total length of roads that will be built, including the three connecting arms
2019The year this segment of the Sea Link will be completed, if all goes to plan
related old news
First look: Rs 4,300-crore Versova-Bandra Sea Link
The Times of India
The
Versova-Bandra Sea Link meets the Bandra-Worli segment at a clover leaf
intersection. A few kilometers before this, at the Otters Club end of
Carter
related old news
Versova link update
The Bandra-Versova sea link received the go-ahead from the
Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). The authority
also approved the offsite infrastructure for the Navi Mumbai
international airport. Both the projects have been approved under the
new Coastal Regulation Zone norms of 2011, said T C Benjamin, principal
secretary, urban development. The MCZMA will now write to the Union
environment ministry to allow the construction of the two projects, said
Valsa Nair-Singh, secretary, environment. The go-ahead from the MCZMA
is considered a virtual green signal from the Union environment ministry
as well. ‘‘It is a 9.6-km sea link with two connectors,’’ said a senior
official from the state environment department. The construction of
this section, at current prices, is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore.
The offsite infrastructure for the Navi Mumbai international airport
which was approved by the MCZMA includes non-aeronautical infrastructure
such as warehouses, railway terminal, official quarters, arterial roads
etc. The infrastructure has now been approved to be set up on 450
hectares outside the perimeter of the airport.
In a fresh amendment to the city’s road plans, the proposed
10-km Bandra-Versova coastal road corridor may be extended by 8 km up to
Malad, towards the north of the city, and in further phases up to
Virar, a distance of about 46 km. The proposal came up based on a draft
report of a joint technical committee (JTC) constituted by the state
government to study technical, financial and environmental feasibilities
of road options along the city’s coast. The report, sources said,
enthused administrators as it recommends coastal roads on reclaimed land
and stilts, besides a link portion which has a mangrove patch. “We will
put up concrete proposals before the next infrastructure sub-committee
for extensions up to Malad and Virar. Most road alignments on these
sections will help us in the development of the project. Wherever
mangroves confront us with an alignment, a stilt road or link can be
built,” said Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)
managing director Bipin Shrimali. MSRDC has estimated the cost of the
54-km Versova-Virar coastal road to be around Rs 4,000 crore. The JTC
concluded that there was a strong case for constructing a coastal
freeway between Malad and Versova, and between Versova and Nariman Point
via Bandra and Worli. The cost from Bandra to Versova will be around Rs
1,500 crore. The report has pointed to reclamation in Singapore for
coastal roads and has recommended it besides the coastal road on stilt
and sea link (like the Bandra-Worli sea link) options for the entire
stretch. The committee feels the need of the road (coastal) or freeway
(sealink or road on stilts) along the coastline from Nariman Point to
Malad is not under dispute. Further, there should be a plan to connect
the road to the upcoming eastern freeway on P D’Mello Road via Cuffe
Parade and Colaba. This portion will then be attached to the Nhava-Sewri
link road at Sewri, and will go further up to Ghatkopar via Chembur and
Mankhurd. Comprehensive transportation studies by international
consultants had recommended roads up to Versova and further up to Virar,
but the need for taking up different sections was still under debate
among experts and engineers of the state government. The road will
reduce congestion and travel time and will be a long-term solution as it
will help keep traffic revolving in and around Mumbai.