Dear Citizens

We’re just a few days away from June 17th 2019, when the Bombay High Court will hear petitions that challenge the Coastal Road Project in its entirety. The momentum seems to be very much with the petitioners and other citizens advocating for more responsible development.

Eminent citizens such as Shirish Patel (urban planner and civil engineer) and Hussain Indorewala (assistant professor and urban researcher at Kamla Raheja Architecture Institute) have written an open letter to Praveen Pardeshi, Mumbai’s new municipal commissioner, outlining why the Coastal Road should be scrapped: “This project that has nothing to offer but worsening health, segregation, risk and uncertainty. Instead, we urge that we put the city’s money where the city’s real needs lie – in basic infrastructure and services, in basic health and educational facilities, and in mass-transit systems that are attractive to all income groups and in particular benefit citizens who need them most, those with the least means.” You can read more of the open letter here: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/why-coastal-road-project-should-be-scrapped/articleshow/69668714.cms

Meanwhile, under pressure from concerned citizens, Mohan Machiwal (chief engineer of the Coastal Road Project) has cancelled a meeting he was supposed to hold for Marine Drive residents. Given the serious shortcomings in the Detailed Project Report, we invite you to join us in writing to him today to seek answers on this matter as well as a number of other issues.

Thank you for your support,

Save Our Coast

Please copy the text below this line and paste it into your email.

And send to : che.coastalroad@mcgm.gov.in

Cc to: saveourcoast2019@gmail.com

Subject: Citizens' questions about the Coastal Road Project

Dear Mr Machiwal

We are disappointed to hear that you have cancelled the meeting that was scheduled on 7th June, 2019 at Kalpana Building, Marine Drive, Mumbai. Given the scale and expense of the Coastal Road Project, and the lack of detailed drawings including plans, sections and specifications (such as exact start and end of ramps, slopes, construction methodologies, the Environmental Impact Assessment, the MoEF presentation, and how you plan to tackle the heritage zone including Chowpatty Beach, tunneling under Malabar Hill, the period of construction and methodology for traffic management during this period), we would appreciate if you make all of these details available online and also provide answers to these questions by Monday 10th June:

1. For a project of this expense (Rs 12,900 crores for the southern phase alone), why was a comprehensive transport study from 2006 used to draw conclusions about the coastal road? Since then, the city has also invested thousands of crores in the metro project, which is estimated to take 4,00,000 cars off Mumbai’s roads. It seems that the Coastal Road Project and Mumbai Metro Project are competing with each other, which is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
2. In 1962, Wilbur Smith conducted an 18 month survey on Mumbai’s transportation system before making recommendations on the Coastal Road Plan. How did a 7 day manual count of vehicles and a 1 day origin-destination survey suffice in this day and age?
3. Investments in freeways, flyovers and road widening projects only encourage personal automobile based transport due to induced demand. If according to the DPR, total growth of cars and taxis in Mumbai is 8.3% per annum, why isn’t the city administration making more moves to disincentivise car ownership? Given the levels of congestion, and the air pollution caused by cars, why is the city promoting private automobile use instead of investing in public transport?
4. The Bandra Worli Sea Link caused major erosion of beaches in Dadar and Mahim. For the proposed CR project, land will be reclaimed and environmentalists have estimated that Chowpatty Beach could erode due to the change in tidal patterns from reclamation. Where will Ganesh Visarjan be held if Chowpatty is eroded and the sand is deposited further south near NCPA?
5. Worli residents have lost their promenade to reclamation work. Right now, the southern section of the Marine Drive promenade is largely used by tourists. What will happen to Marine Drive when the promenade south of the Princess Street Flyover is destroyed?
6. The BMC’s advocates Sakharey and Aney have said that environmental clearance is not required for the southern phase of the coastal road. How is that possible for a project of this scale, especially when the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 lists schedule 1 protected species of wildlife off the coast of Mumbai?
7. In 2019, a study projected global sea levels to rise by 30-34 cm i.e. approx. 1 foot. What is the likelihood of Marine Drive being flooded, and how will the Malabar Hill tunnel be safe in case of heavy rainfall combined with storm surges?

Further, the Supreme Court order clearly states that the “interim order of the High Court stands modified by permitting the contractors [...] to continue with the works which have already commenced, but not to undertake any fresh works.” Several residents of Napean Sea Road have noticed the contractors dumping material in previously unreclaimed areas of the intertidal zone, and residents and walkers at Marine Drive have noticed that the work zone has expanded over the last few days.

As you, the workers and contractors are representatives of the MCGM and citizens of India, we expect respect for the rule of law and would appreciate detailed explanations of the work that is currently being undertaken at Chhoti Chowpatty, from PDP to Haji Ali, and at Worli Dairy. These details are not available online and it is imperative that you share them so we can ensure the Supreme Court order is governing the parties until June 17th 2019.

Thank you,

(please add your name)