To Hem In A City

After receiving the go-ahead for Mumbai’s western coastal road project, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was a relieved, happy man. He tweeted, “Thank you @narendramodi ji& @PrakashJavdekar ji for issuing notification allowing Coas­tal Road construction. It’s dream come true for Mumbaikars”. Critics disagree, saying this ‘dream’ might turn out to be a ‘nightmare’ for many thousands.

The aspiration to turn India’s financial capital, Mumbai, into a swanky Shanghai or Singapore lookalike has long had its hold on politicians. Depending on municipal efficiency, actual political will and proximity to elections, such projects can have differing outcomes. The ambitious Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Monorail and Metro ­Phase 1 are exa­mples. Other projects, such as the Nhava Sheva trans-harbour link, Metro Phase 2 and 3 continue to be debated amidst cost escalations. The latest in this list is the Coastal Road project.

The idea to build a 35-km road that runs along, over (on stilts) and under (through tunnels) the Arabian Sea coast from the northern tip of Kandivali to Nariman Point came up a few years ago but rec­eived the green signal only in December 2015. Now, a report by the Independent People’s Tribunal, comprising urban planners, environmental activists, transport experts and serving and former BMC officials has slammed it, saying it will be unviable and damaging.

“It is an anti-people project where the real design is to grant FSI to the builders for the land adjacent to the coastal road,” says Justice (retired) Hosbet Suresh. “Who will pay Rs 400 for a trip? How many are benefited by the sea link? It is an environmental disaster. It is violative of all principles; right to life, livelihood....”

The report, put together by journalist and activist Darryl D’Monte, looks at the possible impact of the road on transport, heritage, environment and the livelihood of fishermen. Several depositions in the rep­ort point out that the road will be used by  less than two per cent of the population, even if as much as half of the 4 per cent who use private vehicles takes this route.

“Several studies have shown that while public transport and semi-public transport like auto and taxis ferry over 85 per cent of commuters, they occupy less than 15 per cent of the road space. It is the exact opposite with private cars. Governments have built flyovers, sea links etc, but no one has tried to dissuade people from the use of cars,” says lawyer-activist Girish Raut.

D’Monte says that despite many attempts the civic body has not held a public hearing, as in the case of the Development Plan, which was scrapped after a public outcry. “This is not demanded by the public. It inv­olves lot of reclamation, which is not ent­irely taboo, but is against nature. Marine processes operate peacefully if left to themselves. Shoreline acts as the line of control,” says V. Subramanyan, former professor of geology, IIT Bombay. The coastline of Mumbai—a mix of rocky and sandy beaches—has its own complex way of erosion of rocks, carrying the silt and preserving the sand in harmony with mangr­oves and marine life. Subramanyan poi­­nts out that the impact of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link has eroded the Dadar Cho­wpatty to a few metres of its old self, while also damaging buildings. It may also irreversibly affect the current mayor’s bungalow, a heritage building. In addition, due to a rise in sea levels, millions are vulnerable to flooding.

All these concerns spring to life when Sandeep Vaity and Rajesh Mangela, who live in fishing villages in Worli and Juhu, called Koliwadas—the original homes of the inhabitants of the seven constituent islands that made up Mumbai—speak of how ‘development’ changed their lives.

“People who practise traditional fishing have lost over half their income because of the sea link. We wrote innumerable letters but nothing happened. It is not just about the changing marine currents, which drive fish away, but also sewage and pollutants that are no longer washed away by tides,” says Sandeep. One must understand the habits of the sea before venturing into projects, he says, before ruing that two var­ieties of excellent prawns and fish have all but disappeared, resulting in huge losses for the fishing community.

What has happened in Worli is likely to be replicated in Juhu, Versova and Malad. “People often do not realise the impact until the project starts and then it is too late. That’s why it is so important to have public hearings to debate the project’s actual details. Policies are drafted solely under pressure from the builder lobby and despite having a notification for a long-term policy for the fishing community, nothing has happened. Misleading people, they  have removed the heritage status for Versova. This will affect over one lakh people from the fishing community,” says Rajesh Mangela, an activist fighting for conservation of fishing villages and livelihood rights.

The western coastal road has also rubbed the middle class the wrong way. The Gulmohar Area Societies Welfare Group says in a statement: “A uniform eight-lane coastal highway along the coastal edge will turn Mumbai from being a city on the water to a city trapped by a coastal highway, severing people’s relationship with the sea. Such a significant change...is highly damaging and demeaning and therefore unacceptable.” Their concern has solid grounds, for access to the iconic Band Stand, Carter Road, Juhu Chowpatty, Versova’s Nana Nani park etc are likely to be affected. “It has been proven that when access to open spaces is compromised, people do not use them,” says D’Monte, citing the example of promenades near the Bandra reclamation.

The open spaces mentioned above do not include places of historical importance like the Mahalakshmi Temple, Haji Ali Dargah, and Bandra Fort. The erection of sea walls, ramps for tunnels and wider roads are likely to hamper the access to and the view of these sites.

Transport experts insist that only a part of the proposed Rs 12,000-crore outlay  for the proposed road could do wonders to the bus transport and railway network. They also point out that coastal roads are now discouraged the world over.

“Providing two additional lines on the suburban rail network (MUTP III) will cost not more than Rs 4,500 crore and provide an additional 6 lakh trips. This is three times the output of the road for less than half the cost,” says the ITP rep­ort. “It is a situation where there is enormous enthusiasm in the government to spend Rs 13,000 crore on daily transporting 3,00,000 people but almost zero enthusiasm in spending Rs 1,000 crores on imp­roving a system which transports 8 million daily,” says Rishi Aggarwal from Observer Research Foundation in his deposition.

Politicians, however, continue to claim that Mumbai needs the coastal road badly. Considering the growing awareness of the havoc it can wreak on livelihood and nature, their mulish insistence might be paved with opposition.