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Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Colaba residents renew legal challenge to jetty project near Gateway of India
MUMBAI: The Clean Heritage Colaba Residents Association (CHCRA) has filed a rejoinder—a formal reply to a previous statement—before the Bombay High Court, challenging the Maharashtra Maritime Board's (MMB) plan to build a passenger jetty and terminal near the Gateway of India. Represented by CHCRA president Subhash Motwani, the association argues that the proposed 15-acre project violates environmental regulations and undermines heritage conservation norms. The site falls within the ecologically sensitive Coastal Regulation Zone-I and IV (CRZ-I and CRZ-IV) and is located in the buffer zone of the Gateway of India, a Grade I heritage monument. The proposed terminal features a sprawling, tennis racquet-shaped jetty, complete with VIP lounges, restaurants, an amphitheatre, and a sewage treatment plant—facilities the residents claim are excessive and environmentally damaging. CHCRA points to a 2000 study by Howe India (P) Ltd., commissioned by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), which had rejected the same location due to poor accessibility and environmental risks. The study instead recommended Ferry Wharf—a dock in Mazgaon historically used for passenger services—as a more suitable site. The recommendation was accepted by both the MbPT and the state government at the time. However, the MMB revived the Colaba site proposal in 2014 and again in 2022 without conducting fresh feasibility studies or referring to the earlier expert findings. The residents have also raised serious concerns about the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, calling them flawed and misleading. The reports, they say, misstate critical site details, ignore the impact on marine ecology, and fail to address the visual and cultural significance of the Gateway of India. In its affidavit, CHCRA has criticised the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for approving the project under the category of a 'standalone jetty'—a classification that typically excludes terminals with commercial amenities. The association contends this is a deliberate mischaracterisation intended to sidestep stricter environmental clearance processes. Further, CHCRA alleges that the approval process lacked public transparency, bypassing mandatory hearings and community notifications, thereby violating environmental due process. In its rejoinder, the association argues that MMB has failed to justify the change in site or address concerns about traffic congestion, ecological harm, and the visual degradation of Mumbai's historic waterfront. The petition also invokes Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, arguing that the project infringes on citizens' fundamental rights to a clean environment and heritage protection. Although preliminary piling has begun—with two steel piles already driven into the seabed—major construction is yet to start. The petitioners maintain that the project is not 'well underway' as claimed by MMB. They further argue that the planned 64,000 sq ft development—with its cafés, lounges, parking spaces, and large reclaimed sea area—goes far beyond the scope of a standalone jetty and requires full-scale environmental clearance. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of a new traffic impact assessment, especially given the persistent congestion on PJ Ramchandani Marg, the narrow road leading to the Gateway. The heritage NOC (No Objection Certificate), the petition says, fails to consider the visual intrusion on the iconic monument and its surroundings. CHCRA also questions the need for enclosing large stretches of the sea and warns that piling vibrations may damage nearby heritage structures. Advocate Prerak Choudhary, representing CHCRA. 'We have filed our rejoinder in response to the Maharashtra Maritime Board's affidavit. Since the matter is sub judice, we will present our full arguments before the court.' The next hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
City to get new marina for 400 pvt yachts near Ferry Wharf
Mumbai: Food courts, shops, banquet halls and cafes besides cosy waiting lounges with a glass facade, alongside a world-class marina for private yachts, are expected to enhance the skyline of the city's eastern bay near Bhaucha Dhakka (Ferry Wharf). This area comprises the domestic cruise terminus and passenger cruise platforms. Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, while commissioning the new international cruise terminal building at the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) area at Ballard Pier Monday, announced that a 400-yacht capacity marina would be built soon by the MbPT. Currently, Mumbai has around 300 private yachts anchored around the Gateway of India and Radio Club in a haphazard manner. The MbPT on Monday awarded a 15-year contract to Hotel Airport Kohinoor Pvt Ltd to operate and maintain the passenger terminal and commercial facility at Ferry Wharf from where M2M ferries operate their Ro-Ro services to Mandwa. The Rs 29 crore land-lease contract will give Bhaucha Dhakka's passenger terminal a modern, efficient and passenger-friendly terminal integrated with a vibrant waterfront commercial experience. While the MMB will build a Rs 200 crore marina for public passenger boats or catamarans at the Radio Club near the Gateway of India, the new marina for the increasing number of private yachts will be built next to the domestic cruise terminus near the Ro-Ro service platforms of Ferry Wharf at an initial estimated cost of around Rs 550 crore. For public transport, the govt recently announced plans to buy 15 electric boats, similar to the Kochi water metro for the Radio Club marina. Meanwhile, the MbPT will also complete the construction of a new Ferry Wharf terminus for 1,200 fishing boats by the end of this year, said MbPT deputy chairman Aadesh Titarmare. The project is being built at a cost of Rs 140 crore. The existing platforms and jetties for fishing boats and trawlers at the wharf have become old and unsafe. This is expected to help increase not only the quantity of fish catch but its quality too. Sonowal also inaugurated the renovated Fire Memorial at Victoria Docks, as well as two refurbished heritage buildings—Fort House at Ballard Estate and Evelyn House at Colaba. Sonowal inaugurated the Sagar Upvan Garden in Colaba along with Shore-to-Ship Electric Supply under the Green Port Initiative too. At the same event, the minister handed a plot at Reay Road to the Hare Krishna Mission for a community kitchen. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority—India's largest container terminal—was handed office space in Mumbai for the first time, at Mallet Bunder. The event also saw Sonowal attending the signing of an MoU worth Rs 5,200 crore for building cargo and other infrastructure for the greenfield Vadhavan port. Shantanu Thakur, Union minister of state for shipping ports and waterways, was present as the guest of honour.
