Proposed Residential Towers Worth Over Rs 12,000 Crores Threaten Seawoods Wetland

Former environment minister of Maharashtra Aditya Thackeray alleged that the government was going to destroy the flamingo sanctuary by allowing to build residential complexes near Seawoods in Navi Mumbai. Speaking at a party function, Thackeray said a proposal to build a golf course and the residential towers (which, according to experts, may fetch price of up to Rs 12000 crore) had come during his tenure as the Environment Minister too, but he had disallowed it as it would have affected the flamingo sanctuary and the mangroves as well. “We are not against development, but we are against the destruction of mangroves,” Thackeray said on Monday.

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the planning agency for Navi Mumbai, has now planned to develop 17 buildings and an 18-hole golf course on the plot. At present, the golf course development is in high court over environment clearance. While the environmentalists have been opposing both projects for almost a decade, the draft development plan (DP) of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) proposed a residential tower there. At present, there are only three to four housing societies and a school building along the stretch. The rest of the land is either part of mangrove or wetlands. With Airports Authority of India (AAI) agreeing to issue height NOCs for buildings located within 20 Km radius of proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) upto 48 to 50 stories, the value of land has already been unlocked in the satellite city. The Developers' association MCHI Navi Mumbai foresees that the project developed on land adjacent to the NRI Complex in Seawoods will be of premium quality and valued in the thousands of crores. Manohar Shroff, Senior Vice President of MCHI Credai Navi Mumbai, stated that even at current market prices, a flat would cost at least Rs 5 to 6 crores. "Considering this price point, the overall project value would exceed 12,000 to 15,000 crores, especially given that there are no height restrictions up to 48 to 50 floors or 160 meters," added Shroff.

“If that particular stretch is allowed for construction, the adjoining land will also be tapped for similar purposes in future,” he added. In 2006, around 35 acres of land was given at just Rs 33 crores for a golf course. A major part of the land is supposed to be used for a golf course and just 1.5 acres of land for residential purposes. Sunil Agarwal, founder of Save Navi Mumbai Environment (SNME) is skeptical about a 18-hole golf course on such a small plot. “In a subsequent manner, residential complexes will come up and a small golf course will be developed for those residential complexes,” said Agarwal. He added that even Bombay Natural Housing Society (BNHS) opposed a golf course for the protection of mangroves and wetlands. Agarwal said that the Mangrove Cell has declared the waterbody behind Training Ship Chanakya (TSC) Non-Residential Indian (NRI) Complex Wetland in seawoods as wetlands. “NMMC DP says that these are not wetlands,” said Agarwal, adding that there is a group working to free these lands from environmental protection.