Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Wednesday paved the way for construction of a cable-stayed bridge over Malad creek connecting Madh Island and Versova.Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna allowed BMC’s petition, seeking permission as mandated by a September 2018 order, to clear 1237 mangrove trees over an area of 2.7515 hectares for the project.Senior advocate Aspi Chinoy, with advocate Joel Carlos, submitted that the proposed bridge with a 2064 m road length is a crucial missing link in Mumbai’s road network. Presently a detour through congested roads can take 1.5 hours. The bridge will reduce congestion, travel time and vehicular pollution. Chinoy said all permissions of regulatory authorities were obtained.Bombay Environment Action Group’s advocate argued that compensatory afforestation plan was not sufficient. Chinoy said BMC had deposited Rs 1.4 crore towards compensatory afforestation over 9 hectares in Thane district. He also referred to 2.5 hectares of in situ mangrove restoration plan as only .20 hectares of mangrove would be covered by piers and pylons.In the order, the judges noted that the proposed bridge would reduce the present 21 km journey between Madh and Versova to around 1.5 km, cutting travel time from nearly 1.5 hours to 5 minutes.
