28.2.15

BKC-Eastern Express link gets green go-ahead


In a boost to east-west connectivity in Mumbai , the state environment authority has given a final clearance to the 1.6 km link project between Bandra-Kurla Complex and Eastern Express Highway . The link will cut travel time between the two locations by 30 minutes and improve accessibility to the business hub. It will also help decongest Dharavi-Sion Link Road, L B S Marg and Sion Circle, say authorities. Currently , commuters from the eastern suburbs as well as Thane and Navi Mumbai have to take a circuitous route through these areas to reach BKC.
“This is the final environmental clearance. Construction can now go ahead,“ said state environment secretary Ajoy Mehta. MMRDA is overseeing the Rs.156 crore project. It will be the fifth major project to link the east and the west.
The link will begin at the G Block market in BKC and culminate near Somaiya Trust Ground along Eastern Express Highway . It will cross Mithi River, L B S Marg, Central Railway tracks, Duncan Causeway Road, Chunabhatti Bus Terminus and Harbour rail line.
The link envisages construction of five piers in Mithi river and a 260-metre bridge across the river.
However, clearance by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority is subject to several conditions.Construction has to be carried out in accordance with Coastal Regulation Zone provisions of 2011. Also, the piers erected in Mithi river should not obstruct its natural flow and debris should not be thrown into the river, said the state authority. Prior clearance of the high court will have to be sought if construction falls in the mangrove area or is within the 50 metre buffer zone.
The project will also have to abide by the environment management plan chalked out by NEERI, said the state authority .
The plan says if trees are to be removed in the project area, then an afforestation plan will have to be submitted in advance to the tree authority. Also, those displaced by the project will have to be resettled before work begins.The project area will have to be monitored for air and water quality, too.
Transport analysts say while east-west links are needed, in several cases, such projects have added to the traffic.

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