Mumbai coastal road set for final nod from Centre.

The Central government is expected to issue the final notification for the ambitious Mumbai coastal road project within the next 15 days. The project will connect south Mumbai to Kandivli in the north of the city.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday at Delhi, after which Fadnavis confirmed that the process will be completed soon. “The environment minister has assured that within a week, the coastal road will be given clearance and after that it will take around 10 days for the notification to come out. This is one of the important decisions taken recently,' Fadnavis said.

Jawadekar also assured that the issue of Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) will be taken up in the upcoming Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) meeting. 'We discussed around 13 proposals with the Central government. Mumbai’s coastal road will be like a lifeline to the city,' Fadnavis said.

The 35.6km-long coastal road project, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 12,000 crore, was hanging in balance for the past five years and has been opposed by transport activists and environmentalists.

The government has invited suggestions and objections from citizens over the coastal road, and said the suggestions will be considered while preparing the amended draft of the coastal road project.

'The environment and ecosystem will not be damaged for the project. The state had some issues about MTHL and we discussed about the resolution of those too,' Fadnavis said.

The 22-kilometre sea link-MTHL, costing upwards of Rs. 11,000 crore, is meant to connect Navi Mumbai with Sewri and also develop large parts of Navi Mumbai.


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