Bombay HC allows 220 KV transmission line, permits Tata Power to displace 477 mangrove trees

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However, the approval will be subject to the company complying with the conditions imposed in clearances or permissions granted by the authorities and giving an undertaking of compensatory plantation of as many as 5,000 mangrove saplings against the displacement of 477 mangrove trees due to the proposed project.

The court also held that for industrial growth and the need to provide livelihood, there needs to be a balance between developmental projects and conservation of environment.

A division bench of Justice A A Sayed and Justice Abhay Ahuja earlier this month had passed the judgment in a plea by Tata Power, seeking directions from the court to the Union and state environment ministries and Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), among others, to implement the project based on permissions granted under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), Forest (Conservation) Act and the notifications issued under the provisions of EPA.

The proposed transmission line of at least five kilometre from Kalwa to Salsette will pass through an existing Right of Way (ROW) of 22 metre width over an area consisting of mangroves and also falling within a 50-metre mangrove buffer zone.

Senior Advocate Milind Sathe for Tata Power submitted that the current power generation in Mumbai is 1,877 MW, whereas the power demand is 3,800 MW and the gap of 2,000 MW is bridged by procuring power from outside the city through transmission lines connected with the state grid.

After perusing submissions and material on record, the bench directed the authorities to permit Tata Power to execute its project, provided it strictly complies with the conditions. The High Court held that that same is “necessary for the public good and in public interest” and it is a project of bonafide public utility.