Bombay HC upholds govt plan to build passenger jetty near Gateway of India
This story was originally published at 18:45 IST on 15 July 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Bombay High Court Tuesday upheld the Maharashtra government's decision to construct a passenger jetty and terminal facilities abutting the historic Gateway of India in Mumbai. The court said the pursuit of development is not an affront to the environment when it walks the careful path of sustainability, guarded by regulations and reason.
"After traversing the entire expanse of material on record, expert opinions, statutory clearances, and upon weighing the scales between progress and preservation and taking into account the fact that the project stands fortified by statutory clearance, we uphold the validity of the decision of MMB (Maharashtra Maritime Board) and the state government in constructing the project," the court said.
The court said the dominant purpose of the project was to provide facilities for passengers to embark and disembark. Other facilities such as an amphitheatre and a restaurant and cafe are only ancillary to the project and, therefore, have to be used only to make the jetty functional, it added.
The court said it was conscious of the fact that no sewage treatment plant has been envisaged for the project, and the functioning of the facilities should not be detrimental to the environment. Accordingly, it directed the Maharashtra Maritime Board to ensure that the amphitheatre shall only be used as a sitting area by passengers waiting to board the jetty and not as a place for any kind of entertainment.
The board shall also ensure that the proposed restaurant or cafe shall be used only to provide water and packaged food products to passengers and not for providing dining facilities, the court said. It further said the board shall ensure that after the project is completed, the existing jetties at the Gateway of India are discontinued in a phased manner as directed by the Indian Navy.
The court was hearing petitions filed by Clean and Heritage Colaba Residents Association and its members in the Colaba area of South Mumbai voicing apprehensions that construction of the passenger jetty abutting the Gateway of India would cause excessive and needless harm to the pristine heritage precinct. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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