Suspend DP work till coastal plan is finalized: Activists
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MUMBAI:
Activists want the civic body and the state government to either
suspend or extend the date for the completion of the development plan
(DP) exercise till the coastal zone management plan (CZMP) is finalized.
In a letter to the state urban development department and the BMC, D Stalin, director of Vanshakti, said that being a coastal city, Mumbai was constantly facing an onslaught from the sea and attempt should be made so that all such threats were addressed properly.
The coastal zone management plan is being prepared after over a decade as per the requirements of the CRZ Notification 2011. The last date for submission of CZMP for coastal districts has now been extended to January 30. Objections have been raised to the new CZMP as it is feared that several acres of land will be lost to the new high tide line being drawn based on salinity.
Environmentalist Rishi Agarwal said the CZMP would have huge ramifications on creating infrastructure such as housing, dumping etc. "The city has been without a development plan for over a decade. The DP exercise can be extended by a few months," he said.
Stalin pointed out that CZMPs indicate the extent of the shoreline under threat and also the creek areas where the sea water pushes in. "The hazard line also would be marked so that constructions can be regulated and avoided in areas where the level of threat of erosion and inundation is maximum. The position of the HTL (high tide line) would again determine which areas face the greatest risk and need to be decongested," he said.
Stalin said that all future development plans need to be made after the CZMP maps are prepared and not by "adjusting" the maps as per the construction lobby's needs. "It would be proper procedure that the CZMP maps are put in the public domain, objections and suggestions invited and then decision taken on its final demarcation," he said.
Consultant G D Chiplunkar, who as a civic official was involved in the preparation of the 1998 CZMP, said the DP exercise must continue along with the CZMP preparation.
Civic officials said the BMC was carrying out a consultative exercise which has never been done in the past. "We are consulting as many people as possible, so that the preparation of the DP is not a bureaucratic exercise," said a senior civic official.
In a letter to the state urban development department and the BMC, D Stalin, director of Vanshakti, said that being a coastal city, Mumbai was constantly facing an onslaught from the sea and attempt should be made so that all such threats were addressed properly.
The coastal zone management plan is being prepared after over a decade as per the requirements of the CRZ Notification 2011. The last date for submission of CZMP for coastal districts has now been extended to January 30. Objections have been raised to the new CZMP as it is feared that several acres of land will be lost to the new high tide line being drawn based on salinity.
Environmentalist Rishi Agarwal said the CZMP would have huge ramifications on creating infrastructure such as housing, dumping etc. "The city has been without a development plan for over a decade. The DP exercise can be extended by a few months," he said.
Stalin pointed out that CZMPs indicate the extent of the shoreline under threat and also the creek areas where the sea water pushes in. "The hazard line also would be marked so that constructions can be regulated and avoided in areas where the level of threat of erosion and inundation is maximum. The position of the HTL (high tide line) would again determine which areas face the greatest risk and need to be decongested," he said.
Stalin said that all future development plans need to be made after the CZMP maps are prepared and not by "adjusting" the maps as per the construction lobby's needs. "It would be proper procedure that the CZMP maps are put in the public domain, objections and suggestions invited and then decision taken on its final demarcation," he said.
Consultant G D Chiplunkar, who as a civic official was involved in the preparation of the 1998 CZMP, said the DP exercise must continue along with the CZMP preparation.
Civic officials said the BMC was carrying out a consultative exercise which has never been done in the past. "We are consulting as many people as possible, so that the preparation of the DP is not a bureaucratic exercise," said a senior civic official.
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