Mumbai's Aksa beach seawall caves in, greens cry foul

Mumbai: In a classic case of nature striking back, a part of the 600-metre seawall built by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) at Aksa beach in Mumbai has begun to cave in with tidal waters hitting the shores.

NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar and activist Zoru Bathena, who moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT), pointed out that the wall is anti-nature as it interferes with the tidal water flow.

Now, one can see gaping holes all along the structure, Kumar said and sent a fresh missive to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde calling for demolition of the ill-conceived wall and allow free flow of tides.

MMB had argued that it built the wall to protect the coast from erosion, but The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), in its CRZ nod, stipulated in its condition number one that there should be no solid construction in the tidal influential area and CRZ-1.

Violating the condition, MMB has gone ahead and executed the project completing nearly 95 per cent of the construction even as the hearing was on at the NGT’s western zonal bench, Kumar said. MMB then approached the MCZMA for amending the CRZ nod and dropping the condition number one.

Shockingly, the MCZMA allowed this as the MMB argued that the electric poles on the beach were getting eroded, Kumar said.

At the NGT hearing, Gayatri Singh vehemently opposed it and said a post-facto approval cannot be granted and said the illegal wall should be demolished forthwith.

MMB advocate Saket Mane admitted the violation by his client and argued that the anti-sea erosion measures are justifiable even under the CRZ notification. He also quoted expert reports including the one from IIT, Mumbai, justifying an anti-sea erosion bund at Aksa Beach. The report also upheld the fresh alignment for the bund on the ground that some electric poles were collapsing due to erosion.

Gayatri Singh contended that there was no sign of any anti-sea erosion bund and that MMB built a wall. Moreover, MMB was aware of the topography of the site, and it should have raised the concern regarding the existence of private properties along the landward side of the High Tide Line, prior to the CRZ clearance being granted, she said.

NatConnect, meanwhile, sought information under the RTI Act from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) about the so-called erosion impacting the electric poles at the beach. BMC is yet to respond, Kumar said.

Bathena said the environmentalists have been opposing the seawall right from the day the MMB started dumping material more than two years ago. “Playing with nature would lead to disastrous results. Today, we have the proof as nature gave us the warning,” he said.

Kumar and Bathena told the NGT that anti-erosion measures, if at all required, should be taken in consultation with the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) which suggested alternatives to seawalls.

NatConnect has also complained to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) which in turn asked the MCZMA to investigate and report back.

The MMB has then said it appointed an internal committee to check NatConnect complaints of violations, but the report is yet to see light of the day despite many reminders, Kumar said.