Bombay HC allows Adani plea for felling of mangroves for electricity transmission near Vasai creek
In October, last year, the Divisional Forest Officer, Mangroves Division, North Konkan issued a demand notice to the petitioner to deposit Rs. 6.77 lakh as cost of plantation of mangroves (compensatory afforestation) in 1:5 ratio, which the firm deposited.
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The bench considered 'public importance at large' of the proposed project and necessary approvals availed by the petitioner firm from authorities and found it "appropriate to confer the desired permission.
Maintaining that the electricity transmission line near Vasai creek “shall benefit electricity consumers in Mumbai and its suburbs leading to the potential growth of the city,” the Bombay High Court last week allowed Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Ltd to fell 209 mangroves for the project.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati H Dangre passed an order on February 6, copy of which was made available on Monday night.
The Adani electricity appointed as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the project had approached the HC seeking direction to authorities to permit it to execute the project involving 80-kilometres stretch consisting of 50 kilometres of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) line and 50 kilometre of HVDC underground cable in the mangrove area.
Senior advocate Vikram Nankani for the petitioner submitted that of the 80-km line only 1 kilometre passes through areas having mangrove presence and 2.22 km of the transmission line falls in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The line is proposed to be laid at the depth of 20 metres below the ground using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and duct bank trenches method across the Vasai Creek.
As per the inspection, the project involved felling of 209 mangroves including 144 located in Mumbai Mangroves Conservation Unit (MMCU) and 64 mangroves are located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) forest division. The petitioner firm obtained an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP) for the HDVC project.
Subsequent clearances and recommendations were given by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
In October, last year, the Divisional Forest Officer, Mangroves Division, North Konkan issued a demand notice to the petitioner to deposit Rs. 6.77 lakh as cost of plantation of mangroves (compensatory afforestation) in 1:5 ratio, which the firm deposited.
Thereafter, required approvals were obtained from authorities including Eco Sensitive Zone Monitoring Committee of SGNP, Mangrove conservation cell and National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and the plea was moved in HC seeking its nod for felling of 209 mangroves.
Nankani argued that the project was critical for Mumbai as existing capacity of the transmission corridor is not sufficient to carry further power into the city and the petitioner has availed all statutory permissions and is required to commence the project by March 21, 2025.
NGO Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) opposed the plea stating that there was inconsistency in mangroves to be cut. It said while MCZMA meeting had indicated 79 mangroves to be cut, the petitioner sought felling of 209 of them.
The bench considered ‘public importance at large’ of the proposed project and necessary approvals availed by the petitioner firm from authorities and found it “appropriate to confer the desired permission.
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