Congress leader Pawan Khera accused the Narendra Modi government of waging a “relentless war” on the environment after Maharashtra’s coastal zone authority cleared a Thane road alignment that would permanently destroy 680 mangroves near the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
“Future generations may well look back at the Modi era as India’s Pitch-Black Age – an age of darkness, opacity and destruction,” Khera wrote on X.
He accused the BJP of damaging India’s social fabric, economy and politics, while repeatedly disregarding the preservation of its biodiversity.
“No educated person in their right mind would oversee such widespread destruction of sensitive ecosystems,” he said, before taking a swipe at Modi’s educational qualifications.
The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) cleared the original alignment of the 7.12-km Thane Coastal Road-2 through the sanctuary’s eco-sensitive zone and recommended the proposal to the Union environment ministry, according to PTI.
The recommendation does not constitute the project’s final statutory clearance. Approval from the ministry and other authorities is still required.
Minutes of the MCZMA’s September 24 meeting showed that the project would affect an area containing 3,754 mangroves. Of these, 680 across about 1.7 hectares would be permanently lost where piers for the elevated road are proposed.
Another 1,053 mangroves could be damaged during construction and restored afterwards, while the remaining 2,021 would largely remain untouched.
Local infrastructure trackers and daily commuters have aggressively pushed back against environmental critiques in the replies. The X account @mumbaiheritage questioned the environmental cost, warning that construction could disturb flamingo habitats and the creek’s ecosystem.
“Infrastructure is important. So is protecting the natural heritage that sustains our cities,” the account said.
The MCZMA had deferred its decision in August and asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is implementing the project, to examine alternative routes.
However, the MMRDA maintained that no alternative alignment could substantially spare the mangroves, citing existing development to the west and Thane Creek to the east.
It proposed an elevated viaduct with the distance between piers increased from 30 metres to 50 metres to reduce the number of foundations.
The coastal authority’s recommendation includes conditions for compensatory mangrove plantation, an environmental management plan and monitoring of the project’s impact.
The road would connect Anand Nagar in Mulund East with Balkum in Thane. The MMRDA said it would divert regional traffic away from Thane city, improve connectivity and reduce congestion, accidents and pollution.