Mumbai’s Coastal Road Project Affects 45,000 Mangroves, But 98 Trees Return To Charkop

Around 98 trees affected by the Coastal Road North project in Charkop, Kandivali West, will be transplanted back into the neighbourhood instead of being relocated outside Mumbai. The trees, which were removed and kept at Powai, will now be replanted at three locations in Sector 8, following efforts by local environmental activists and officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). Scroll down to know more.

The first phase of the transplantation drive will begin at Datta Guru Udyan on Wednesday at 10.30 am. Two other locations have been identified for the trees: a plot adjoining a pond and the premises outside K. B. Patil School. The work at these sites will begin after the necessary permissions are secured.

According to reports by Free Press Journal, he decision to replant the trees within Charkop is being seen as an effort to retain the neighbourhood’s green cover while infrastructure work progresses. Keeping the trees within the locality could also help preserve existing habitats for birds and other urban wildlife, rather than shifting the greenery to areas outside Mumbai.

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The initiative comes as the Coastal Road North project, also known as the Versova-Bhayandar Link Road, advances. The project is Phase II of Mumbai’s Coastal Road network and involves significant environmental clearances and tree removal.

Coastal Road North Project To Affect Mangrove Cover

The project requires the diversion of 103.6554 hectares of mangrove forest land and is expected to affect more than 45,000 mangroves. As compensation, 1.37 lakh mangroves are to be planted across 255 hectares of land outside Mumbai. The BMC received Stage II clearance, the final approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in July. In June, the BMC Tree Authority approved the cutting of around 1,900 trees for the project, enabling authorities to advance tree removal and construction work.

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The project is targeted for completion by December 2028. Against this backdrop, the decision to bring the 98 trees back to Charkop offers a local effort to preserve green spaces amid the wider environmental impact of the infrastructure project.

Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons