‘Will benefit large sections of population’, Bombay HC allows felling of 350 mangrove trees for Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway
The court asked NHAI to strictly comply with all the conditions laid out in the project approval by the MoEFFC, including compensatory afforestation through forest departments and developing a nursery to raise seedlings of forestry species.
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350 tress in the Coastal Regulation Zone of Vaitarna river require felling for the project. (File) Stating that the eight-lane Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway will “benefit large sections of the population”, the Bombay High Court recently allowed the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) plea for the felling of 350 mangrove trees for the expressway construction.
The court asked NHAI to abide by its undertaking that it will strictly comply with all the conditions laid out in the project approval by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFFC), including compensatory afforestation through forest departments and developing a nursery to raise seedlings of forestry species.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep V Marne on February 2 passed a verdict in NHAI’s plea seeking to fell the mangrove trees, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday.
The bench held, “Vadodara-Mumbai greenfield expressway which forms part of Delhi-Mumbai expressway corridor will benefit large sections of population in Maharashtra, Gujrat and Union Territory of Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Execution of project considering the importance of the project proposed to be undertaken by petitioner, we deem it appropriate to grant permission.”
The NHAI, which functions under the Ministry of Road and Transport & Highways (MORTH), had said it would bring down the number of trees needed to be axed for the project. The agency, through Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and advocate Pralhad Paranjape, submitted that although it had earlier sought to fell 1,001 mangrove trees, only 350 in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) of Vaitarna river now require felling. The NHAI had said that while it had initially sought permission for the diversion of 3.950 hectare of mangrove forest land, the mangrove affected area falling within CRZ would be only 0.0785 hectares.
ASG Singh said that the project was important as it is a part of National Highways Development Project (NHDP)- Phase 1. The traffic flow rate on the highway was about 94,322 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) in 2020 and the projected traffic volume for 2030 is 1,41,533 PCUs, which would exceed the capacity of the present six-lane highway, Singh cited.
“As the widening of the highway is not feasible, the Central government has decided to construct Greenfield Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway,” Singh submitted.
Singh added that the NHAI has procured all requisite permissions from various authorities including MoEFCC, Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for the project’s execution.
The petitioner stated that according to the judgement of the Bombay High Court in September, 2018 in the Bombay Environmental Action Group’s (BEAG) case, a total freeze had been imposed on the destruction of any mangroves in the state and to undertake any work in such zone, the agency required to approach the HC to get its nod, therefore the present petition. The BEAG, through advocate Rohan Kelkar, had opposed NHAI’s plea.
The bench observed that the petitioner had procured all requisite permissions from all the authorities, adding that while granting permission for diversion of forest lands on August 26, 2021, the MoEFCC had imposed conditions on the NHAI.
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