Minister for Public Works Nitin Gadkari has asked architect Hafeez Contractor to submit his plans to create a 17.5 km long green zone along the western waterfront to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest soon, Contractor told The Indian Express on Saturday.``An environmental study will be instituted after I submit the plan, which should take about six months,'' he said. However, refusing to give details on the committee headed by Gadkari which would study the proposal, Contractor mentioned that it would comprise a few IAS officers.He expressed confidence that the proposal to reclaim land would get a go ahead. He also informed that a non-resident Indian (NRI) had already assured him Rs 50 crore towards the project.The 60 lakh cubic meter of silt needed for the landfill will be extracted from the Mahim Bay, he said, adding that as the sea had a rocky bed, the problem of erosion would not arise. Contractor said that he had consulted a leading hydrology expert who agreed that the advantages of theplan outweighed the disadvantages.Contractor went on to complain that Saturday's seminar was organised with a biased mind. The plan was on paper four years back but no one was willing to hear him out, he said. He, however, added that he wasn't in any race and if his plans did not materialise and that of architect PK Das did, he would be happy as they were working for the same goal. Top
