12.7.12

MTHL update

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has listed 12 conditions to forward the Mumbai transharbour link (MTHL) proposal to the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for its clearance.
The MoEF clearance for the project was for five years and it lapsed in 2010. The MMRDA, which is the planning authority for the project, is making another attempt to implement the 30-year-old proposal.
The MCZMA has said the 22-km link will be allowed provided it does not affect the tidal flow of water between the high-tide line and the low-tide line. No reclamation would be allowed even for landing areas in the CRZ I, II, III and IV areas. The land link will have to be in the form of a bridge up to non-CRZ areas. The MMRDA has been asked to submit a mangrove replantation plan along with details of the place identified. It will have to replant five times the number of mangroves cut or destroyed during the construction.
The MMRDA informed the coastal authority that it has already undertaken the plantation of mangroves on a seven hectare patch of mudflats near Gavan village. Other conditions include obtaining permission from the Bombay high court and the forest department to carry out construction in the mangroves and Sewri wetland area and an impact assessment study on the flora and fauna as well as the avifauna.
The MMRDA has obtained an NOC from the department of archaeology for the Gateway, Elephanta Caves and Sewri Fort. 

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