Colaba Residents Move Bombay High Court to Stop Jetty Construction Near Gateway of India | File Photo
Mumbai: Colaba residents have moved the Bombay High Court demanding a stay against the construction of the proposed passenger jetty near Gateway of India until they are not provided with Clean Heritage Colaba Residents’ Association (CHCRA) has filed a writ petition challenging Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Maritime Board’s (MMC) decision to construct the passenger jetty and terminal facilities.
After CHCRA failed to receive 27 documents from MMB and the signs that the authorities have started the work for the proposed jetty near the Gateway of India in Colaba, the residents association moved the Bombay High Court on Monday against the proposed development. Through the petition, it has stated that the proposed development is illegal, irrational, arbitrary and destructive of the heritage vista.
The residents of Colaba have been vehemently opposing the construction of the Rs 229 crore jetty near the Gateway of India since the fisheries and ports minister Nitesh Rane had performed the ground-breaking ceremony in March. They have alleged that the jetty is being planned for the VIPs with vested interest without considering local issues like traffic congestion, overcrowding and damage to the heritage structure.
The petition filed by CHCRA’s vice president Pervez Cooper, through Adv Prerak Choudhary, stated that the passenger jetty and terminal facilities will occupy approximately 15 acres in the sea with the jetty extending to more than 500mtr in the sea. It also stated that a part of the sea-side wall of the Gateway of India promenade is proposed to be removed for access to the jetty.
CHCRA has also stated that the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has also approved the structure under a provision of a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification which only permits the authority to consider applications for stand-alone jetties.
It also stated that the Mumbai Traffic Police have given a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the project, not-withstanding that the road is already congested and sees traffic jams. The petition also stated that the approval process has been carried out without any notice to the residents.
The residents have urged the High Court to direct the state government and MMB to furnish documents including the order to construct the jetty, MCZMA clearance and NOCs by Mumbai Traffic Police and Heritage committee. It has also requested the court to restraint the state and MMB from carrying out the construction work of the proposed jetty until the documents are provided.
Simultaneously, the residents also met Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar and MMB officials at Vidhan Bhavan on Monday, where MMB accepted Narwekar’s request to hold the construction work for one more week.
“MMB has said that it will share all the documents related to the project that are under their purview. We also showed them the videos of traffic jams near the gateway and raised concerns about the NOCs from the traffic department and the heritage committee,” said Rocky Lobo, spokesperson of CHCRA.
