Versova beach set to get ₹17-crore makeover

Mumbai The harbour division of the Public Works Department (PWD) is all set for a ‘makeover’ of Versova Beach in Andheri, for which it has received approval from the Mumbai suburban District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC). The PWD issued a tender last week for building a jogging track, putting up benches and planting trees on the beach.

Anil Pawar, the PWD’s coastal engineering department’s superintending engineer, said that the division had built an anti-sea erosion bund. “There is space behind that and we can construct a jogging track and benches,” he said. “We will also plant eco-friendly trees which can reduce the velocity of the wind. The project will cost ₹17 crore.”

In 2017, the makeover of Versova Beach was halted by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). Back then, the project had been taken up by the slum board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The body had wanted to construct pathways, watch towers, statues, decorative lights, fountains, relaxation benches, and a lighted landscape zone with better sanitation facilities and tourist spots. However, MCZMA refused on the ground that the coastal ecology would be affected, as the area falls in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) I.

When questioned on this, PWD superintending engineer Pawar said that a consultant would be appointed and the work would start only when MCZMA approved the project.

Environmental activists are up in arms about the ‘makeover’. Zoru Bhathena who had objected to the tetrapods put up in the current project, said, “The PWD, under the garb of repairing the existing sea wall, filled up the beach with tetrapods, with the result that there is barely any beach left. They have made a promenade like the one in Marine Drive. We will check this new proposal and ensure that it is executed without violating the provisions of CRZ under the Environment Protection Act.”

Bhatena reiterated that his activist group was opposed to any concretisation of the beach. “We have thwarted such plans earlier,” he said. “The matter is pending in the National Green Tribunal and we are awaiting orders.”

Versova MLA Bharati Lavhekar (BJP) claimed that residents had asked for the makeover. “The Versova beach was facing erosion, and water used to enter people’s houses,” she said. “They sought help from me so I approached Union minister Nitin Gadkari. He sanctioned ₹35.5 crore and helped us in getting anti-sea erosion bunds. After this, locals wanted benches and beautification.”

The DPDC had cleared the makeover plan, said Lavhekar, but then suburban guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray (Shiv Sena) gave an oral stay. “Now, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has granted funds and things are moving,” she said. “Along with the other beautification, we have also planned a selfie point called ‘I love Versova’.”

Environmentalist Harish Pandey rued that instead of developing roads, bridges and flyovers, the government was wasting energy on trivia. “The ‘makeover’ will be a violation of CRZ rules and is against Nature,’’ he said.