Mumbai: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has been tasked with monitoring the construction of the Bandra-Versova Sea Link (BVSL) to assess and mitigate any impact on marine life, particularly cetaceans (namely Indian ocean humpback dolphins and finless porpoises) and benthic organisms (that live on the ocean floor, including crabs, bivalves and others).
The ZSI will monitor this throughout the construction period and for five years after the civil works are completed, according to conditions imposed on the project by the Union environment ministry earlier this month.
The length of the BVSL is approximately 9.8kms, with intermediate dispersal points at Juhu Koliwada and Carter Road (near Otters Club) and end connectors at Versova and Bandra. The sea link passes through the Arabian Sea approximately 900 metres away from the coast, where seafarers frequently see dolphins.
In addition to the ZSI, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, will also be involved in the monitoring study, and will focus on conservation of mangroves. A total of 1,585 mangrove trees have already been cut for the project in Bandra, Juhu and Versova.
These monitoring studies have been mandated as a condition for renewing the project’s Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance, which lapsed in January this year. It was recommended by the Maharashtra State Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for renewal in March this year.
However, it was deferred by the MoEFCC on May 15 for want of additional details from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). As of this month, around 8% of the construction stands are completed.
An MoEFCC-committee led by marine ecologist Deepak Apte, who chairs the ministry’s expert appraisal committee on CRZ matters, is also expected to conduct a site visit to Mumbai to verify various details about the project’s progress before the CRZ clearance is granted afresh, reveal the minutes of the EAC’s last meeting on May 15.
The committee has also sought from the MSRDC details about all pending litigation against the project, in addition to a revised ‘environment management plan’ and road safety audit report.
The EAC has also asked the MSRDC to explain how the sea-link will decongest traffic, instead of merely “diverting the congestion from one place to another place.”