Sanjay Gandhi National Park. (Files) Sanjay Gandhi National Park. (Files)

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is set to lose another eight and a half hectares of land which will be used for the construction of a 4.5-km elevated road connecting Fountain Hotel in Thane to Gaimukh. “We need at least 3.75 metres of space on either side of the elevated road for the erection of piers. We propose to divert the forest cover to areas in Jalna,” said SD Dhote, Chief Engineer, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC). The area lost would be a little smaller than the size of Azad Maidan in South Mumbai. Apart from seven hectares of Forest land, the proposed road will also eat into 1.5 hectares of mangrove forests. “There are mangrove forests on the other side of the road. Based on Forest Department directions, we will suitably compensate it,” he added.

While the Rs. 667 crore project has received approval from the state government, the MSRDC still needs clearance from the Wildlife Board and the Forest Department to construct inside the SGNP area. The four-lane elevated road has been proposed to decongest Ghodbunder Road, which cannot be widened further. With four lanes elevated and four lanes of the existing road it will become an eight-lane stretch. While heavy vehicles will continue to use the lower road, smaller vehicles can zip across the elevated road.

“The road is eight lanes at some stretches, six lanes at others and when it reaches this point it becomes four-lanes. Since we cannot widen the road further here we will construct an elevated road. At the ghat section, commuters experience constant traffic jams and the travel time is increases greatly,” he said.

Already, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is to build a ropeway connecting Borivali with Thane passing over SGNP. The agency sought six hectares for the construction of the Virar Alibaug Multimodal corridor. Meanwhile, the MSRDC is also considering an underground tunnel passing beneath SGNP to connect Borivali and Thane.

Environmentalists said the government was not considering the cumulative effect of all these projects on the park. “Each project is being sanctioned saying it is going to cause little harm to the environment. But the cumulative effect of all these projects need to be studied. This is a ploy to denotify the national park and they might later convert it into a biodiversity park or nature park. They will force the leopards into man-made areas or move them to other areas,” said Stalin Dayanand, Director, NGO Vanashakti.

He questioned the need for so many projects in the area. “These projects are only coming up to cater to people who are investing in areas around Ghodbunder Road. With the port coming up nearby, they want more people to invest here. The national park is no more a priority for this government,” he added.

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