Maharashtra is arguing that CRZ be relaxed because similar relaxations
have been granted in the case of the A&N islands too...
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CM seeks speedy approval for Navi Mumbai airport
7 May 2009, 0333 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar, TNN


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/CM-seeks-speedy-approval-for-Navi-Mumb\
ai-airport/articleshow/4493123.cms
MUMBAI: A week after the high court's observations, chief minister Ashok
Chavan on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking
expeditious approval for the Rs 10,000-crore Navi Mumbai greenfield
airport project.

"Prima facie, the project was held up because of stringent restrictions
under the rules for the development of coastal zone. Chavan apprised the
PM of the fresh observations of the court on CRZ norms. We feel that now
the project will be implemented in a time-bound period. We have
submitted the details of the court order to the environment ministry,''
T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development, told TOI.

City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), in collaboration
with the Centre, had taken up the project of setting up a greenfield
airport near Panvel, with a capacity of 10 million passengers per year.
However, there was no progress in the wake of a petition filed by the
Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG) for protection of mangrove forest
in the coastal areas. For the airport project, out of the 1,600 hectares
of land required, 450 hectares was occupied by mangrove forest.

In view of the pending litigation, the Centre had declined to approve
the proposal, saying that unless there was a specific order from the
high court, it would not grant permission for the airport. A week ago,
advocate general Ravi Kadam moved a notice of motion before the high
court to seek relief. "The court observed that the ministry of
environment and forests was entitled to grant exemption from the
provisions of CRZ norms enacted in 1991. Now, there should be no
difficulty in launching the project,'' Kadam said.

Armed with the court observations and a fresh proposal, Chavan called on
the PM and officials of the ministry of environment and forests. During
the discussion, it was also pointed out that the Centre had granted
large-scale relaxation in implementing CRZ norms for Andaman and
Nicobar. "We feel that as a large part of Mumbai and surrounding areas
falls under CRZ norms, no further development is possible. In such
circumstances, we feel that the Centre should grant permissions for
developmental and greenfield projects,'' the official said.

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