MCZMA defers BMC plan for hoardings on coastal road

MUMBAI: The BMC’s plan to have hoardings near the coastal road has received a setback, as the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) committee has deferred its plans on account of non-compliance of documents in a meeting held on July 5. The MCZMA is a body that clears projects in coastal areas of the state that are governed by the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) of the Environment Protection Act.
The four hoardings, with a display on both sides, were to come up at Tata Garden in Breach Candy and Lala Lajpat Rai Park near Haji Ali. Since the plan has been deferred, the BMC will have to submit documents again. South Mumbai residents have already opposed the plan, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has protested to the state government.
According to the minutes of the meeting, the BMC said that several local governments and state and central government agencies had utilised their open space to generate revenue by leasing it to agencies to display advertisements. The license department wanted to utilise the spaces of various interchanges across the Mumbai coastal road similarly. The tender was called for after the approval of the then municipal commissioner I S Chahal on April 21, 2023. Bizlist Advertising LLP was given the contract for the Tata Garden hoarding.
According to the minutes, the MCZMA noted that the Coastal Regulation Zone map in a 1:4000 scale with superimposition of the project site and a report prepared by the ministry of environment and forests and climate change as per the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan, 2019, had not been submitted by the BMC. Hence it was deferred. The hoardings at Lala Lajpat Rai Park were also rejected on the same grounds.
As per a CRZ notification and a Supreme Court order, reclaimed lands cannot be commercialised. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation had similar plans to have hoardings at Bandra Promenade but this was stopped.
In South Mumbai, a group which has been formed to oppose the BMC’s plans has collected nearly 5,000 signatures. Rajesh Dahiya of the Breach Candy Forum said he was not aware of the BMC’s proposal being kept on hold. “The laws say that hoardings can’t be erected on open grounds,” he said. “We are opposed to the hoardings.”
Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray recently wrote a letter to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani to put a stop to the hoarding plan. Pointing out that there was an increase in cyclonic activities on the west coast of Maharashtra, he said a hoarding crash could endanger lives and property. He had also alerted Gagrani on the anomalies in hoarding rates and called for an in-depth inquiry.
A senior BMC officer told HT that some officers wanted the hoardings.
MCZMA clears sea-facing flats for BMC at Colaba
The MCZMA has also cleared a plan to construct high-end sea-facing houses for top officers of the BMC at Colaba Pumping Station. The area of the plot is 33,444.23 square metres and the total construction area is 11,518.69 square metres. The building will have three wings with eight floors.
At present, there are 14 small structures on the plot where the BMC has planned houses for its additional commissioners, joint commissioners, deputy commissioners and senior officers. At present, the officers live in state government accommodation. One bungalow meant for an additional commissioner is occupied by the CEO of MITRA and one has been allotted to the mayor. This has left the BMC with just one bungalow.