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Informist, Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Friday upheld the cutting of more than 45,000 mangrove trees for the proposed INR 182.63-billion Versova–Bhayandar coastal road project in Maharashtra. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, noted that the Bombay High Court had already asked Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp. and some officials to file yearly affidavits for 10 years on the compensatory tree plantation by them.

 

The apex court rejected a petition by Vanashakti, a non-government organisation, challenging the high court's Dec. 12 order. It upheld the undertakings given by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp. to the high court that both in situ mangrove plantation and compensatory afforestation would be carried out after the cutting of mangrove trees.

 

The proposed road was envisaged as a continuation of the already operational coastal road from Nariman Point to Bandra, as well as the coastal sea link presently under construction between Bandra and Versova. The municipal corporation filed a petition to seek permission from the court to cut mangroves, as this was mandated by the high court in 2018 for starting any project that affected mangroves.

 

According to the petitioner, the proposed road will have a significant and direct beneficial impact on the general public. The project was expected to decongest the Western Express Highway, Link Road and S.V. Road, the petitioner said. While the overall travel distance between Versova and Bhayandar would be reduced by about 10.4 kilometres, the substantial benefit was in the reduction of travel time from 120 minutes to about 18 minutes, the petitioner said. This would, in turn, reduce daily fuel consumption by about 782,355 kilograms with a corresponding reduction in annual carbon dioxide emissions of about 14.69 million tonnes, the petitioner said.

 

The petitioner said that the net affected area by the project was 84.186 hectares and that 45,675 mangrove trees were likely to be affected. In compliance with the stipulated mangrove-to-mangrove compensatory afforestation in the ratio of 1:3, the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Mangrove Cell) would plant and maintain 137,025 mangrove trees, three times the number of mangroves proposed to be cut over an area of 30 hectares of degraded mangrove forest land in village Bhayandar, it said.

 

Mangroves perform a critical protective function by acting as natural buffers against coastal erosion, tidal surges, and flooding, safeguarding life, property, and vital coastal infrastructure. They are of particular ecological significance in the creeks and coastal stretches of Mumbai and Thane in Maharashtra.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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