The Maharashtra government has, for the second time, rejected a plan to reclaim land from the sea for Mumbai city, already bursting at its seams. It has found the plan, recently proposed by an international consultant, unviable on the grounds that it is environmentally unsuitable and untenable under current law.
On Friday, Dr Ronald Waterman of the Netherlands (an eminent expert in the field of environmental engineering), had made a presentation to the Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan. Dr Waterman's proposal was to reclaim land for the city by dumping boulders in the Arabian Sea around the coast.
Last year in August, a similar proposal was made to the State government by Surbana Consultants, a Singapore-based consultancy firm, which was tasked with creating a future development plan for the Mumbai metropolitan region.
Mumbai city was originally a chain of seven islands. Since British times, land has been reclaimed for creating additional space for the population. The last reclamation was in 1960s and 1970s, which led to the creation of upmarket Cuffe Parade area in South Mumbai.
Plans ‘non-viable'
A senior Maharashtra government official said that both plans are non-viable as a number of vital naval, marine and strategic installations will be affected. The sea is protected by a number of laws including the Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) rules, which prohibits construction activity on the coast, the official said.
“Circumventing CRZ rules would be very difficult. Plus, we don't know what would be the impact of global warming on Mumbai. Therefore, the State Government does not want to support such plans. They will merely remain at a discussion level,” the official said.
Dr Waterman in his presentation had said that a portion of the sea near the Gateway of India, Marine Drive and Malabar Hill and the port areas could be reclaimed. But the earlier experience with Mumbai reclamation has shown that reclamation around Colaba, Bandra has led to coastal erosion around Dadar. “Coastal hydrology is a very complex subject with too many factors influencing its course. Therefore, one should not be tinkering with it,” the official said.