In a major development, the ministry of environment and forests on Wednesday issued a notification giving a nod to the ambitious coastal road project that will ease the traffic in the city.
Elated by the Centre’s approval, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted out thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and environment minister Prakash Javdekar over the nod.
“Thank you Hon Modiji and Prakash Javadekarji for issuing notification allowing construction of Mumbai coastal road. It’s a dream come true for Mumbaikars (sic),” the CM said on micro-blogging site Twitter this evening. The details of the notification are yet to be known. The nod has come after the CM’s visit to Delhi in the beginning of November to push the coastal road and other infrastructure projects.
The CM had met Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, finance minister Arun Jaitley, railway minister Suresh Prabhu and Mr Javadekar for projects including coastal road, Pune Metro, Smart City project and affordable housing. The CM had then confidently told reporters that the state would get approval for the coastal road in a few days.
The 35.6-km coastal road will include 10-km long underground tunnels at two locations — beginning from Nariman Point to Priyadarshni Park and another from Juhu to Versova beach. The BMC has decided to construct the tunnels in the sea, as against the original plan to build them in the beach.
The coastal road will also include 22 interchanges — entry and exit points — and lanes dedicated to the Bus Rapid Transit System, so that the stretch can serve modes of mass transport too. The project with an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore, was delayed for the past five years and was opposed by activists and environmentalists alike.
