Mumbai: Environmentalists have lauded the recent Supreme Court (SC) directive restraining the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) from holding meetings or clearing proposals regarding projects in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) till such time CRZ maps are released.
The directions were passed by the apex court earlier this week while hearing a petition by NGO Vanashakti regarding the absence of CRZ maps in Mumbai and Thane.
The SC passed an order overruling the high court stay on the earlier National Green Tribunal (NGT) order restraining the MCZMA from giving CRZ-related permissions to builders until such time maps of Thane and Palghar were released.
The SC held that the NGT will monitor the issue and also that the state will submit the CRZ maps before April 30.
Stalin Dayanand, project director, Vanashakti, said, “This has great significance for Mumbai where builders have been rampaging CRZ areas. Risk to human life and property is high in CRZ areas. The maps have been withheld since 2011 and repeated extensions given to builders.”
The NGT order stated that coastal states should not grant environmental clearance (EC) to development activity inside regulated zones as that would defeat the purpose of the entire exercise.
Environmentalists asserted that the state body should comply with the court’s order and publish finalised maps, according to which, permissions should be given.
