Bombay High Court Clears Way For Passenger Jetty Near Gateway Of India; Rejects Colaba Residents' Plea

The Bombay High Court today dismissed the petitions filed by residents of Colaba, challenging the construction of a Jetty facility in South Mumbai, near Radio Club and adjacent to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and near the Gateway of India.A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne thus upheld the validity of the decision of the Maharashtra Government and the State's Maritime Board. It observed,"The pursuit of development is not an affront to the environment, when it walks the careful path of sustainability, guarded by regulations and reason. After traversing the entire expanse of material on record, expert opinions, statutory clearances and upon weighing the scales between the progress and preservation and taking into account the fact that the project stands fortified by statutory clearance, we uphold the validity of the decision of MMB and the State Government in constructing the project i.e. 'Passenger Jetty and Terminal Facilities' in sea face/promenade abutting the Gateway of India near the Radio Club," the judges said.The bench, further noted that the main purpose of the Jetty is to facilities to the passengers for embarkation and disembarkation and the other facilities like amphitheatre and restaurant/cafe are only ancillary to the project. "Therefore, the same have to be used only to make passenger jetty functional. We are also conscious of the fact that there is no sewage treatment plant envisaged in the project. The functioning of the facilities should not be detrimental to the environment," the judges said. Therefore, the bench issue following directions:(i) The project proponent i.e. MMB shall ensure that the amphitheatre shall only be used as a sitting area by the passengers waiting to board the jetty and shall not be used as a place of entertainment in any manner.(ii) The MMB shall further ensure that the proposed restaurant/cafe shall be used only to provide water and packed food products to the passengers and shall not be used for providing dining facility.(iii) The MMB shall also ensure that after completion of the project at Gateway of India, the existing jetties shall be discontinued in a phased manner, as directed by the Indian Navy.The bench was seized with the petition filed by Clean and Heritage Colaba Residents Association (CHCRA) - an association of nearly 400 residents of Colaba and another plea by one Laura D'Souza.The petitions stated that the proposed construction, from a promenade 280 meters from the Gateway of India and located near the Radio Club, is ex facie illegal, irrational, arbitrary and destructive of the heritage area. It further stated that the construction involves setting up a Terminal Platform for providing parking of 150 cars, VIP lounges/ waiting areas and ticket counters/ administrative areas along with a huge tennis racquet shaped jetty.Further, the petitioners highlighted the fact that Jetty and Terminal Facility is proposed to be on the seafront adjacent to the Gateway of India, which is a protected heritage site and for the jetty's access, a part of the sea side wall of the Gateway of India promenade/sidewalk is proposed to be removed."To preserve the character of this Heritage area, Building / apartment owners situate on/ along the waterfront have not been permitted to make even small changes to their frontages. However the Heritage Committee has purported to approve this proposed Jetty and Terminal facilities in this Heritage Area , which will require breaking of the wall of the sea side promenade for access to the Terminal and Jetty and notwithstanding that such a huge structure extending more than half a km into the sca and covering a sea area of more than 15 acres , will completely distort the sea front of the Gateway of India," the petitioners argued. The petitioner further pointed out that already the site in question is congested due to traffic jams and despite this the city's Traffic Police has given an NOC for the construction work. On the other hand, the State through Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf had argued that the Jetty in question is a "crying need" of Mumbai for the last 25 years. The Advocate General highlighted the fact that multiple studies identified Colaba as the only viable site for the new all-weather Jetty and also the fact that all the relevant government departments have reviewed the plan and granted the necessary clearances.AG Saraf had also submitted that the existing five Jetties at the Gateway of India, at present, are inadequate for the heavy commuter traffic from Mandwa, Alibag and nearby coastal towns. One Jetty is reserved exclusively for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and this adds on to the pressure on the remaining four, the Advocate General had pointed out. In his detailed submissions, AG Saraf had also clarified, citing reports by the IIT-Bombay, that no rock blasting would be carried out and that there would not be any effect of the vibrations to the nearby...

Bombay High Court Clears Way For Passenger Jetty Near Gateway Of India; Rejects Colaba Residents' Plea

Narsi Benwal

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