Richa Chadha SLAMS Cutting Of 31 Hectares Of Mangroves For Mumbai's Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road Project, Warns Of 'Disastrous Consequences'

Bollywood actress Richa Chadha has voiced strong opposition to the recent move allowing the diversion of mangroves for the Mumbai Coastal Road (North) project. Reacting to news that the BMC has received in-principle approval from the Centre to chop down 31 hectares of mature mangroves for the Versova-Bhayandar corridor, Richa reacted sharply on social media.

"The proposal to chop 31 hectares of mature mangroves for the Coastal Road (which only a minuscule percentage of Mumbaikars use), is going to have disastrous consequences. Mangroves are the shield between us and a deluge, flash flood or tsunami-like events. We need the mangroves," the actress wrote.

Highlighting the risks of reckless development, she tagged the official X account of BMC and questioned the sustainability of reclaiming land from the sea.

"Already so much land has been ‘developed’ after ‘reclaiming’ it from the sea, what will happen the day the Sea decides to reclaim its old coastline? If we carry on this unscientific path of massive infrastructure growth, we will all be under water. Tag @mybmc and tell them to make life easier, not riskier. Their expertise of Mumbai roads is visible for all to see," Richa added.

For those unversed, a few days back, it was reported that the BMC received in-principle approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for the diversion of mangroves. The approval was granted on June 19.

Following this, the BMC will now approach the Bombay HC for final clearance and seek working permission. On-site work is scheduled to begin in August, with phase 2 of the coastal road expected to be completed by December 2028.

While the Bandra-to-Versova stretch is being developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the Versova-to-Bhayandar corridor is under BMC's jurisdiction.

Spanning nearly 60 km, the coastal road will feature elevated roads, interchanges, connectors, bridges, and two tunnels. The project will cover areas such as Versova, Malad, Malvani, Kandivali, Borivali, Dahisar, Mira Road, and Bhayandar, reducing travel time from the current 90 to 120 minutes to just 15 to 20 minutes.

However, the project has come with environmental costs as, according to a report in TOI, a BMC official revealed that 8.2 hectares of mangrove land, home to an estimated 9,000 trees, will be permanently impacted. Additionally, around 68.5 hectares of mangrove area and approximately 36,000 trees in the shadow zone will also face temporary impact during the construction phase.