Navi Mumbai News: Environmentalists Raise Concerns Over Palm Beach Road Service Road Project After Bombay HC's Approval
Navi Mumbai: Following the Bombay High Court’s order permitting the construction of a service road along Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai, environmental activists from the city have voiced strong concerns, warning that the project could cause irreversible damage to the city’s fragile mangrove and wetland ecosystems.
The proposed service road, which will connect TS Chanakya Signal to Plot 7 in Sector 58, Nerul, was cleared by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M.S. Karnik. The court accepted the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s (NMMC) assurance that no mangroves would be cut and that the road did not fall within any eco-sensitive zones.
While the court acknowledged the project as being in the “larger public interest,” environmentalists argue otherwise. “This project is unnecessary,” said BN Kumar, Director of NatConnect Foundation.
“We would ask NMMC to keep the project on hold. The current Palm Beach Road is serving its purpose, and there is minimal habitation in the TS Chanakya area. Rather than extending the road, NMMC should look into building flyovers to manage traffic more effectively.”
Kumar, who has been campaigning to get conservation status for wetlands in the area—including those near TS Chanakya and NRI Complex—emphasized that the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), in its environmental impact assessment (EIA), had committed to protecting these wetlands.
Another activist, Sunil Agarwal, pointed out that similar service roads have already led to traffic hazards in other parts of Navi Mumbai.
“We’ve seen how the stretch between DPS School and NRI Police Station has become dangerous for pedestrians due to high-speed traffic. A new road in the TS Chanakya area will make it worse and eventually lead to dumping and encroachment on wetlands and mangroves.”
Agarwal urged residents to contact their local corporators, MLAs, and MPs to voice opposition to what he described as “destruction in the name of development.”
Dharmesh Barai, an active volunteer in mangrove clean-up drives, criticized the civic body’s urban planning priorities. “The cycling track they built is barely used by cyclists and is mostly used for parking. Now they want to build another road when what we really need is better traffic management and enforcement. Most roads in Navi Mumbai are clogged with illegally parked vehicles.”
Barai added, “Instead of continuously laying down more roads, authorities should evaluate and fix existing infrastructure.”
The controversy stems from NMMC’s claim that the road will bridge a “missing link” between two existing service roads. While the court acknowledged that the project lies within 50 meters of a mangrove buffer zone, it accepted reports from forest officials that the site does not fall within a notified reserved forest or an Eco Sensitive Zone.
Environmental groups such as Bombay Environmental Action Group, NatConnect Foundation, Save Flamingos and Wetlands Forum, and Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society have all expressed apprehensions over the plan, fearing it could set a precedent for future encroachments into ecologically sensitive areas.
As work on the project is expected to proceed following the court order, civic officials may now face growing public pressure to either halt or reconsider its scope in light of long-term ecological sustainability.
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