Development authority to counter impact on ecology

“No significant impact is envisaged on the ecology during the operational stage of the project. To say the least,the existing ecology is either dead or moribund. The measures suggested would only enhance the quality of the given environment and could hopefully bring back the mangrove-type ecosystem eventually,” the consultants to the project,Arup Consulting Engineers and KPMG,said in a report.

The 22-km Sewri-Nhava link will pass through the Sewri mudflat,the Thane creek and the Shivaji Nagar of Nhava mudflat.

The Sewri mudflats are frequented by several bird species,including four migratory species.

As part of the impact-mitigation steps,the MMRDA will use pre-cast units to avoid any effect on mudflats during construction.

The agency also plans to beautify the whole area as a tourist destination by having a flamingo and mangrove park.

The measures also suggest managing a certain area along the bridge as a tourist spot and an environment education centre with the help of residents.

A nature interpretation centre will be developed in the area to create awareness about the conservation of flora and fauna.

“The project will require the axing of nearly seven hectares of mangroves,so we will be planting mangroves to compensate for the loss. Needless to say,the flamingos that throng the Sewri mudflats will be disturbed during construction,so a flamingo park with an observation deck would be apt for compensating for affecting their habitat,” the MMRDA official said.

Among other measures,the MMRDA will consider the plantation of Porteresia coarctata to purify the aquatic environment through bio-engineering,construction of culverts across the ONGC road to improve supply of marine nutrients to the Shivaji Nagar mudflats and the construction of feeder canals in a grid layout in the mudflats. The MMRDA also expects a gradual growth of benthic algae,which will biologically purify the water,on the pillars of the viaducts on the mudflats.

However,environmentalists have been raising concerns about the damage the project might to do the ecological system around it and have been pushing for a change in alignment.

“There is no correlation between what the impact is going to be and what measures they are taking. They should ideally design a bridge where none of the piers are in the mudflats. This is not even a mass transit project. The whole city has to pay a price in terms of environmental degradation for the benefit of just a few cars,” said Debi Goenka,a city-based environmentalist.