The Bombay High Court has given the green light to the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) for the construction of an anti-sea erosion bund in Colaba, emphasizing that the initiative serves the larger public interest while ensuring environmental protections are maintained.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the court addressed a writ petition filed by MMB in 2021, which sought permission from the central government to construct the bund. The project aims to mitigate land erosion caused by sea waves and tidal activities, particularly protecting the vicinity of the Colaba Sewage Treatment Plant (CSTP). The CSTP, with a daily capacity of 37 Megaliters, is crucial for treating wastewater from nearby regions, further underscoring the necessity of the bund.
The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) had already convened on December 8, 2020, to discuss the project, agreeing to grant Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance under stringent conditions. These include prohibiting any construction within a 50-meter buffer zone of the mangrove plantations and ensuring that natural water courses are not disrupted.
Despite objections from the Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG), which argued that the project lacked a rigorous scientific evaluation and raised concerns about its environmental impacts, the court sided with the MMB. The division bench, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre, referenced an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which supports the construction of hard structures in certain scenarios to prevent erosion while acknowledging potential downstream impacts.
The counsel for MMB argued that alternative, softer solutions to erosion were not feasible in this case. They highlighted endorsements from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the mangrove cell, asserting that the project aligns with the CRZ Notification 2011, which outlines permissible activities within coastal regulation zones.
