Technical group to study Mumbai’s coastal road proposal

April 15th, 2011 - 9:22 pm ICT by IANS  

Mumbai, April 15 (IANS) The union ministry of environment and forests will constitute a technical group to study the feasibility of a coastal road project for the city.

Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said the central government has not rejected the coastal road project, which, if cleared and completed, will significantly ease Mumbai’s traffic congestion.

“We have not approved it either. We shall study it,” he said.

Elaborating, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the technical group, comprising officials from the centre and state governments, would study the economic viability of the project and the latest coastal regulation zone (CRZ) amendments.

Chavan said the state government has proposed a Ring Road project of more than 300 km to be constructed at a cost of nearly Rs.34,000 crore.

It would include sections on stilts, tunnels, and coastal roads with promenade which would add to the existing green cover of Mumbai.

Ramesh also announced the conditional lifting of ban on sand mining for two years from the non-CRZ areas of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of the eco-sensitive coastal Konkan region of the state.

He said that the sand mining in the CRZ areas would be possible after the Maharashtra Maritime Board applies to the ministry on the need for it.

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