The Ministry of Environment and Forests has asked the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to conduct a public hearing on the likely environmental impact of the proposed Pedder Road flyover. The state has stressed the 4.2-km flyover as a quick solution to congestion while the Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link is being built. Work on the sea link,due from December-end,is expected to clog traffic to South Mumbai via the Haji Ali junction. At a September 22 meeting,the MoEF reportedly agreed the flyover would be a cost-effective solution but sought a mechanism against possible pollution. The Pedder Road flyover is crucial for the dispersal of traffic at the junction. Now the MoEF has asked us to conduct a hearing,though we have done one in the past, said Jaydutt Kshirsagar,Minister for PWD (Public Undertakings). The MSRDC is reworking the alignment for the last arm of the Western Freeway project from Haji Ali to Nariman Point,as the Marine Drive stretch is a coastal road. We have asked our consultants to suggest additional alignments, Kshirsagar said. In February,the government approved a combination of a 2-km sea link from Haji Ali to Priyadarshini Park,a 900-metre tunnel from there through Malabar Hill to Tambe Chowk,and a 5-km cut-and-cover tunnel thereon to Nariman Point. The look for alternatives began after the PWD questioned the cost-effectiveness. MSRDC officials said finalising and getting the alignments cleared would take time. Till then,construction of the sea link from Worli will congest traffic at Haji Ali. Therefore,the flyover would be crucial, an official said.
