Colaba residents seek urgent stay on jetty project, cite irreversible damage to seabed

MUMBAI: Opposing the construction of a passenger jetty and terminal near the Gateway of India, a group of Colaba residents on Monday moved the Bombay high court seeking an urgent stay on piling work in the sea.

The application, filed by the Clean and Heritage Colaba Residents Association (CHCRA) through advocate Prerak Choudhary, is part of an ongoing petition challenging the proposed jetty and terminal near Radio Club. The residents argue that the project threatens the area’s marine ecology and heritage promenade.

According to the plea, a piling barge was brought to the site in March 2025 to initiate drilling and fixation of concrete piles into the seabed—an essential step in building the jetty and terminal platform. However, following strong opposition from local residents and representations made to Colaba MLA and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, the barge was temporarily withdrawn by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).

Despite this, the petition claims that authorities have recently barricaded a 100-metre stretch of the PJ Ramchandani sea-facing promenade, allegedly to begin demolition of the seaside wall to facilitate the project. Fearing imminent damage, the residents approached the court.

At a previous hearing on May 2, advocate general Birendra Saraf, representing the state, told the court that demolition of the wall was not scheduled before June 20. However, the petitioners allege that they were informed on May 3 that piling work may resume within the coming week.

They contend that the process of laying hundreds of concrete piles—entailing drilling into the seabed and erecting supporting columns—could cause irreversible environmental damage and structural risk to nearby buildings along PJ Ramchandani Marg. They further argue that once installed, the piles would be virtually impossible to remove.

Urging the court to restrain the state and the MMB from proceeding with the piling until the next hearing, the petitioners submitted that “no prejudice will be caused to the authorities” by a temporary halt.

The matter is scheduled to be heard on June 16, 2025, before a division bench comprising chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice MS Karnik.