The Centre on Saturday assured Maharashtra of an early "positive" decision on construction of an ambitious coastal road to decongest the western side of Mumbai after the issue was raised by state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during his meeting with Environment Minister Prakash Javedekar in New Delhi.
The Environment Minister also said "a broader structure is ready on what both the Centre and the state have to do on this issue." In the meeting, an elaborate presentation was given by Maharashtra officials on the issue.
Javadekar said "Fadnavis and the officials came to discuss about the ambitious plan to construct coastal roads in Mumbai. People who reside in the western side of the city will benefit from it. Traffic is a big challenge. We discussed all aspects. We are positive on this. We are intending to take an early decision."
After meeting the minister, Fadnavis said "There was a meeting on for coastal road to be constructed in Mumbai to decongest the western side of the city. We requested the central government to give environmental sanctions. There are many issues to be addressed to make it sustainable. The state government is working on it. The meeting was very positive." Maharashtra Principal Secretary (Environment) Ajay Mehata, Bombay Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sitaram Kunte and MP Poonam Mahajan were present in the meeting.
Construction of nearly 35-km long coastal road from Mumbai's Nariman Point to Kandivali in the western suburbs at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore was stuck due to some provisions of the environmental laws as existing rules prohibit reclaiming land from the sea for road projects.
However, in a bid to make Mumbai a city of global repute with good infrastructure, Fadnavis-led BJP government is now seeking Union Environment Ministry's clearance for the road proposal.
