Sandeep Naik meets CIDCO. |
The Kharghar-Belapur Coastal Road project has sparked strong opposition from Belapur residents over the modifications happening to the work plan. According to residents the project is now being developed as an inland road thereby causing major unrest about environmental degradation and traffic congestion likely to occur in the residential area.
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has taken up the construction of the almost 9.6 kms long Kharghar Coastal Road (KCR), connecting Jalmarg Sector 16 in Kharghar to Belapur.
2.9 kilometers of the project aimed to enhance connectivity to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is to have existing road and for the remaining portion a stilt construction and ground level reclamation is proposed.
However, the modifications of having an inland road has led former MLA Sandeep Naik to have a meeting with CIDCO’s Managing Director, Vijay Singhal, to discuss the potential issues arising from the project’s revised route. “The opposition to the revised road plan highlights the need for balanced urban development, ensuring that infrastructure projects do not compromise environmental sustainability or create new traffic issues. The plan is to take up the existing road of sector 11 and 15 of Belapur which includes the jogging track, the project is named coastal but this goes through residential belt,” questioned a resident CD Gupta.
During the meeting, concerns were raised about the impact on the green belt, which residents fear may be disrupted. The new alignment is also opined to raise the possibility of traffic bottlenecks in certain sectors, creating further inconvenience for commuters. Additionally, increased vehicular movement near NRI DPS School is opined by residents to pose safety hazards for students and parents.
Naik emphasized that while development is necessary, it should not come at the cost of public inconvenience. “I have urged CIDCO to reconsider the alignment to ensure that residents do not suffer due to the road’s construction,” he said.
The CIDCO MD is informed by the Naik’s office to have assured that the tree belt would remain undisturbed during construction and that preventive measures would be implemented to avoid traffic bottlenecks. “He has confirmed that a follow-up meeting with the engineering department would be conducted to explore feasible solutions,” informed personnel from Naik’s office.
