NGT strikes down appeal seeking cancellation of CRZ clearance for Nerul golf course

Mumbai: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has dismissed an appeal seeking to cancel the renewal of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for a controversial 34-hectare golf course in Nerul, Navi Mumbai. The project, environmentalists maintain, will eat into the TS Chanakya and NRI wetlands - a key habitat for flamingos and other migratory birds in the winter.

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) had granted CRZ clearance for the project on January 11, 2018, and then renewed the same on January 19 this year, despite the fact that construction of the golf course had not yet started as of January 10, 2023, which is a violation of initial terms stipulated by the MCZMA.

The appeal against the renewal -- filed by one Rajiv Datta -- was dismissed purely on technical grounds, as it was filed on April 25, 58 days after the statute of limitations had expired. The NGT cited an HT report to say that the renewed CRZ clearance was in the public domain on January 29, 2023 and hence the appeal should have been filed no later than February 19. “An article titled ‘Renewed CRZ Clearance for ‘scrapped’ golf course sparks fresh concern over Navi Mumbai wetlands’ was published in Hindustan Times on 29.01.2023, i.e. two days after uploading the minutes of the MCZMA Meeting, thereby placing the same in public domain,” the NGT observed.

The project, known as ‘9PBR’, is being executed by Mistry Constructions, an Adani subsidiary. The project, HT had first reported in May last year, was reportedly scrapped by the Adani group to obtain environment clearance (EC) for the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).

The NMIA’s environment impact assessment (EIA) report, submitted to the union environment ministry in September 2021, stated that the golf course was no longer being pursued. The NMIA was then recommended for environment clearance by an MoEFCC committee in November 2021. The EIA report identified the TS Chanakya and NRI wetlands as “large-sized roosting sites” for birds, in addition to a third roosting site at Panje in Uran.

Despite what was submitted to the MoEFCC, minutes of the MCZMA’s December 7 meeting indicate that the golf course project is very much on the anvil. In January this year, HT reported on the renewed ecological concerns which have been sparked by the MCZMA’s decision.

“BNHS strictly suggests that proponents should protect and conserve the following biologically important wetlands, including NRI (Non-Residential Indian) complex, Delhi Public School (DPS), Training Ship Chanakya (TSC), Panje, NSPS (Nava Sheva Police Station) and Jasai where large aggregations of birds are observed,” stated the Adani Group’s EIA report for the Navi Mumbai Airport. “Our overall approach is to conserve the three existing roosting sites – this has resulted in the cancellation of several prestigious projects like the golf course on wetland area to the north-west,” the report continued.

The golf course project has also been at the centre of a legal battle waged by Navi Mumbai residents Sunil and Shruti Agarwal, challenging CIDCO’s October 2016 notification converting the land use of the site from ‘no development zone’ to ‘regional park zone’, thus paving the way for the golf course in a protected wetland area (the land is classified as CRZ-1).

“As a responsible corporate citizen, Mistry Construction has and will abide with all the laws and regulations to ensure environmental safety and protection. Work on our 9PBR project is going on in full swing,” said a spokesperson for Mistry Construction.