Mumbai set for a sea change: Revised DP proposes lifting of curbs in CRZ-II areas

Nearly 43.48 sqkm or roughly 9 per cent of Mumbai’s total land area falls under CRZ-II, going by official records.

While the environment ministry has categorised coastal regions that are already developed on the landward side in this zone, it had imposed curbs on further development activity in the region in February 1991. Even as the curbs were subsequently lifted for redevelopment of unsafe cessed buildings and slum properties in 2011, these remain in force for other development activities.

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Civic planners have also objected to the MoEF stipulation that all undeveloped open spaces in this zone be tagged as CRZ-III, which is essentially “a no-development zone”. “This is anachronistic and not conducive to integrated development of CRZ-II with adjoining areas,” the development plan report says.

The revised development plan, once approved, will remain in force till 2034. This means, the development plan backs the lifting of these curbs just as a new coastal zone management plan (CZMP) — according to 2011 modifications — is being drawn up. Civic Commissioner Ajoy Mehta confirmed this but added, “Our stipulations will kick in as and when the CRZ gets modified. Till then in any case, existing CRZ stipulations will override.”

An earlier draft of the revised development plan, which was subsequently scrapped, had also advocated lifting of these restrictions.

Meanwhile, the civic body has also decided against mapping slums on the development plan sheets. It has argued that the state government had already tasked the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) with this role. Once the SRA finishes the slum-mapping exercise and the government approves it, these will be considered during the implementation period of the development plan.