The Mumbai High Court on Friday approved the application of National High-Speed Rail Limited (NHSRCL) to allow 21,997 mangrove trees to be felled for the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project, subject to various restoration conditions. Instead of cutting down mangroves, the NHSRCL plans to cut five times that amount.
The HC Justices of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja ruled to reject a motion by the environmental group to suspend the order. NHSRCL's lawyer Pralhad Paranjpe, handling the project in which the petition was filed in 2020, objected to the order of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Authority (MCZMA) to deny approval to operate the high-speed train project on mangrove land.
More than 53,000 mangrove trees were initially affected. With the relocation of Thane and Virar stations, "the area of mangroves affected by the project has now been reduced from 13.3668H to 8.6876H. The number of mangroves affected has been reduced from 53,467 to 21,997," NHSCRL said.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR project, the first of its kind in India, will be 508km long, 155km will be in Maharashtra, 4km in the union territory of Dadra Nagar Haveli, and 348km in Gujarat. In addition, Attorney-General Anil Singh came out to support the objections of the centre's petitioners.
In Maharashtra, where nearly 22 km falls within the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) zone, the NHSRCL has proposed adjustments to elevated viaducts and bridges and 27 km of underground tunnels. The project will comprise eight tunnels, the longest of which is more than 20 kilometres at Thane Creek.
The lawyer said the tunnel work had not yet started. The petition states that Maharashtra needs more than 438 hectares of land, of which 121 hectares are forested. Mangroves cover 32.4 hectares, "actually affected mangroves are 13.3 hectares" hectares of land where underground tunnels will be built.
The Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), represented by senior adviser Darius Khambata, opposed the petition, initially saying a second green nod was needed first. The NHSRCL's objection should also be deferred until the Supreme Court decides, as the Supreme Court has suspended mangrove logging permits in a separate case. The NHSRCL said the union's Department of Environment and Forests had "imposed almost 40 conditions", some of which had to be met before applying for a second-stage permit and some of which had to be completed during the project implementation phase.
In May 2021, Maharashtra's other chief forest conservator recommended approval for the second phase the following compliance, the NHSRCL said in an affidavit, adding that the central Ministry will Receive final phase two approval for Maharashtra suburban project in August Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts subject to 36 additional conditions.
On November 28, 2022, BEAG claimed that three clauses had not been completed, including the relocation of Thane and Virar stations, which the NHSRCL denied, stating that the Thane station building was completely outside the mangrove area and the Virar station building was outside the reserved forest area, Relocated. BEAG has said it failed to develop a comprehensive mangrove conservation and management plan, a specific condition of CRZ clearance.
The NHSRCL said it had asked mangrove organizations in a letter dated June 19, 2019, to develop an extensive mangrove plantation and management plan to grow and protect mangroves. She said she also paid Rs 1.2 lakh to the Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Foundation of Maharashtra on September 26, 2019.
A third objection raised by BEAG was that it needed to provide a revised and robust mitigation plan for Thane Creek flamingos to create a protected area. In response, the NHSRCL said it had requested such a plan and would "where necessary Immediately after consultation with Maharashtra Wildlife Department, Mangrove Foundation and BNHS." It said that in August 2022, the mitigation plan was submitted to the Director of New Delhi CRZ, MoEFF&CC for further review by the Expert Assessment Committee (EAC) for the use of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and New Austrian Tunnel Construction Method (NATM) in Bandra-Kurla Between Complex and Shilphata Mumbai Metro Stations.
In addition, it issued a tender on November 14, 2022, for the design and construction of engineering and civil works, including design testing and commissioning of the Thane, Virar, and Boisar, and Depot stations. The first tender is scheduled to open in March 2023, but HC approval is required for mangrove areas. According to NHSRCL, 97% of land acquisitions in Maharashtra and nearly 98% in Gujarat have been completed.
The environmental management authority (ema) has submitted a proposal to the HC court for the cutting of trees.
The divisional judges of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja on December 1 preserved the order in a plea deal filed by the NHSRCL in 2020 seeking to fell trees for the project. It is trying to reduce the number of trees that must be felled for the project, following directions from the union and state environment departments and others.
NHSRCL dismissed the NGO's objection, claiming it had obtained the necessary permits to cut down trees for projects of public importance and would compensate for the resulting loss by planting saplings as directed.
The bench was informed by advocates Pralhad Paranjape and Manish Kelkar, appearing for NHSRCL, that the number of mangroves to be felled has been reduced to fewer than half (from 53,467 to 21,997) and sought permission to remove the trees in Thane, Mumbai, and Palghar districts.
The project received conditional clearance to cut down 53,467 mangrove trees spread over an area of 13.36 hectares from the expert appraisal committee (EAC) on Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) projects of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on March 18, 2019. The Ministry required the NHSRCL to obtain approval from the Bombay High Court and clearance from the Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority. The NHSCRL is also required to conduct a study on the impact of the vibrations from the trains on the birds and mudflats in the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
The NHSRCL approached the Bombay High Court for approval on April 8, 2019. The NHSRCL announced in June 2019 that it had altered the proposed design of Thane station, which would save 21,000 mangrove trees. As a result, only 32,044 mangroves are affected by the project.
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