Borivli-Thane tunnel casting yard planned close to SGNP
A casting yard is where concrete structures like segments, parapets and beams for an infrastructure project are cast and is located in a manner that allows easy access from the project site. Of the 22.6-acre plot for the tunnel project's casting yard, 5 acre falls within the ESZ.
Activist Stalin D of NGO Vanashakti told TOI that the ESZ notification strictly prohibits setting up of polluting industries inside the boundaries of the zone.
"Any action that violates it will be challenged in the courts. The agencies involved cannot pretend to be ignorant of the law and they cannot create third party rights in the ESZ," he said.
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He said the onus is on the forest department and Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation to adhere to the law. "The region inside the ESZ is being rapidly degraded to facilitate construction projects. This is part of a larger conspiracy to destroy the natural landscape virtually inside the national park," he said.
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The project is being executed by MMRDA through its contractor, Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd. MMRDA officials did not respond to queries from TOI. The proposal for the casting yard says it will not affect the ESZ's ecological balance (see graphic).
Local activists claimed that even tribal land is part of this casting yard plot. Uttam Naik, Mira-Bhayander representative of People's Republican Party, recently wrote to revenue department officials on this issue.
"Big machinery will only harm the surrounding environment and increase pollution," he complained.
Last week, the national green tribunal had ordered the closure of two casting yards and ready-mix cement plants operating within the limits of the ESZ of SGNP at Thane's Ghodbunder Road.
Once opened, the tunnels will help shave 12km from a Thane-Borivli trip, saving up to 1 hour, and will also provide direct connectivity, significantly decongesting traffic on Ghodbunder Road and Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road.
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