HC asks Adani group firm to justify cutting of mangroves for ₹172-crore jetty project

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday directed Adani Cementation Limited to provide a detailed explanation of the public interest served by its proposed jetty project. The directive comes in light of the Adani Group firm’s request to cut mangroves and undertake construction in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).

Adani Cementation Ltd aims to establish a berthing jetty, conveyor corridor, and approach road to handle an annual traffic load of 5 million tonnes of cement, fly ash, slag, clinker, and coal. The project is located along the banks of the Amba River in Shahbaj and Shahpur villages of Raigad district. According to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority’s (MCZMA) order dated December 10, 2020, the project is subject to multiple compliance measures.

The company claims that the project will directly benefit local communities by improving physical and social infrastructure, creating employment opportunities, and delivering tangible advantages through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) initiatives. However, the project involves the cutting of approximately 158 mangrove trees within a reserved forest area, raising environmental concerns.

Advocate Aditya Mehta, representing the Bombay Environmental Action Group, highlighted discrepancies in the land-use data presented by Adani Cementation Ltd. He noted that the MCZMA’s recommendation mentioned 0.6497 hectares of CRZ-IA land being affected. However, a study by the Institute of Remote Sensing at Anna University, Chennai, indicated that 1.26 hectares would be impacted. Mehta argued that the destruction of mangroves must be justified with clear public benefits.

Mehta also criticised the company for failing to specify terms under which the jetty would be available for free use by the Maharashtra Maritime Board. He pointed out that the petition merely stated that the jetty would be utilised in accordance with the board’s policies, without any explicit commitments.

Senior advocate Girish Godbole, representing Adani Cementation Ltd, informed the court that the project had already received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change on September 13, 2024, subject to conditions. He assured the bench that an affidavit would be filed detailing the public interest served by the project and the terms of the jetty’s free usage.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar directed Adani Cementation Ltd to submit the affidavit within two weeks. The affidavit must explicitly outline how the cutting of mangroves aligns with public interest.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for January 25, 2025.