Shinde asks for CRZ-2 relaxation in Mumbai, exclusion of 388 villages from ESA in Western Ghats

Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde, during his meeting with Bhupendra Yadav, Union minister for environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) as well as labour & employment, demanded the exclusion of 388 villages from the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) of the Western Ghats and special assistance for slum redevelopment projects in CRZ-2.

The Maharashtra government was told by the Union minister that a committee of officials from MoEF&CC would soon visit Maharashtra to finalise the proposals related to the villages and other projects. The state government is expected to then submit a fresh proposal of exclusion of these villages from the ESA in the Western Ghats. The villages are from various districts of the state, including Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and the state government has contended that their development has been affected due to their being notified as within the ESA. The state forest department made a presentation on these villages.

The state government has also requested a special package for the redevelopment of slums in south and central Mumbai falling in the CRZ-2 category. The state government claimed that the redevelopment of cessed and dilapidated buildings, which are over 50 years old, has stopped due to the CRZ-2 restrictions. “The restrictions hamper the feasibility of the redevelopment of hundreds of such buildings owing to lower FSI. We have requested the Union government for special assistance for these buildings,” said an official.

The state government has also demanded the development of hospitals run by the central labour department in Thane and Mulund. A statement from the chief minister’s office said that the Mulund hospital was on state land while the Thane hospital was on central government land. “The Union minister informed the state government that the central government has planned a medical college at Mulund Hospital and nursing colleges in Thane,” said the statement. “CM Shinde requested the minister to allow non-central government employees and common people to avail of treatment in the hospital. It will help reduce the burden on the district hospital of the state government.”

The state government was also informed that the central labour department proposes to erect a hospital run by the State Labour Insurance Corporation. The central government has asked for land to set up hospitals with 1,100 beds collectively in Palghar, Pen, Panvel, Jalgaon, Pune and Satara.