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MMRDA questions council's new designs on Matheran

J Dey

MUMBAI, May 18: The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has raised serious objections to the proposed modifications to the Development Plan (DP) of Matheran, warning of an ecological disaster if these modifications were to be implemented.

In a letter dated April 29 addressed to the Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council (MHSMC), the MMRDA, whose jurisdiction stretches up to 200 kms out of Mumbai, has objected to key proposals in the DP, including the construction of a helipad and permitting vehicular traffic into the hill station. The MMRDA has also ticked off the MHSMC for not consulting the authority before publishing the extensive modifications, which would entail revising major portions of Matheran's DP.

The MHSMC, under the provision of section 37 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, had proposed modifications in the DP in July last year. Environmentalists blasted the MHSMC's designs on Matheran, pointing out that there are no provisions for basic amenitieslike sanitation and garbage disposal for the hill station.

A senior officer at the Urban Development (UD) department told Express Newsline that at present, the DP is being scrutinised at the Secretariat level, as there are several plots which are under the Forest Department and where no development can be permitted. The government is exploring possibilities of shifting these reservations, said the officer. ``However, no time frame has been fixed for sanction of the DP,'' said the officer.

MMRDA Chief Planning Department S P Pendharkar is also learnt to have objected to opening the road from Dasturi Naka leading into the hill station to vehicular traffic, pointing out that it would set Matheran on the pollution trail. This could also spark off a demand to open other roads inside the hill station. Motor vehicles have been banned from entering Matheran since 1854, when it was first discovered.

The authority has also objected to the construction of a helipad in the heart of Matheran city. Thenumber of tourists flying in by helicopter plus the environmental costs would not justify the helipad, MMRDA officials are understood to have said.

In any case, there's a helicopter landing site at Olympia, the highest spot in Matheran, pointed out Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage convenor Dev Mehta, and there is no need for an additional helipad.

The MMRDA has also questioned the allocation of forest land for construction of amusement or water parks, which, the letter says, would strain the existing amenties at Matheran. The hill station is already experiencing an acute water shortage.

Matheran Bachao Samiti President Piloo Richarson lamented that already, vehiclular traffic upto Dasturi Naka is permitted into the hill station, in blatant violation of a Government Regulation of 1959. This, she alleged, is being done with the consent of district officials, who are bending the rules under one pretext or another. ``This menance has been pointed out to the Collector of Raigaddistrict. but unfortunately, he has not even bothered to reply to the Samiti's complains,'' claimed Richardson.

Proposed modifications