HC declines to stay coastal road project in Mumbai

The Bombay High Court Wednesday refused to pass any interim order to stay the Maharashtra government's coastal road project in the metropolis.

A bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar, however, gave oral orders to the commissioner of the fisheries department to grant a hearing to the members of two fishing societies, which have approached the high court against the coastal road project.

The societies opposing the 29.2-km-long road are the Worli Koliwada Nakhwa and the Worli Machimmar Sarvodaya Sahakari Society. The bench also directed the police to ensure fishermen were allowed to put up equipment, including nets, along the area marked for the road until actual construction began.

It was hearing a petition filed by the two fishing societies, opposing the project that proposes to connect the Marine Drive area in south Mumbai to Kandivali, a western suburb. The petitioners claimed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state authorities had not conducted any public hearing or consultations with the fisherfolk from the city before planning and approving the project.

They claimed the road, once constructed, will take away their livelihood. The reclamation of land for the road, which will run along Mumbai's west coast, will impact the livelihood of countless fishermen in areas like Worli, Khar Danda, Chimbai and several other places between Marine Drive and Kandivali, according to the petition. The bench had earlier directed the BMC and the state to file their replies on the petition.

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