Incorporating the Union environment ministry’s suggestions in Mumbai’s proposed second airport plan may have marginally reduced its annual passenger handling capacity, but the outline of the project submitted by the state to the Centre on Wednesday suggests it may be the ‘greenest’ airport in the country with the best security and passenger transport facilities. Metro and suburban rail networks, new roads and bus routes will connect the airport to Mumbai and rest of Navi Mumbai. The Centre’s environmental clearance to the project is now reportedly a formality, with Cidco accepting most conditions.
At a meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday attended by experts of Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) and Cidco officials, the latter promised to build new wide roads, with a Metro rail connecting the existing and new airports, besides taking one of the metro routes up to Ferry Wharf in Mumbai across the harbour. Besides, there will be dedicated bus and rail routes linking the airport. Cidco has also promised to build innovative boundary walls to the airport which will act as noise barriers, on recommendations made by the environment experts. For the first time in the country, the rock strata below the airport will comprise engineering material that will reduce the noise levels to permissible limits. The experts had suggested Cidco offer proper Metro, suburban train and bus connectivity to the airport to reduce the movement of private vehicles towards the airport area and thus avoid air and noise pollution due to vehicles.
The changed specifications of the new airport have brought down airport capacity from around 61 mppa (million passengers per annum) to 59 mppa. Sources in the environment ministry said air travel demand, accessibility, availability of physical and social infrastructure and airport operational feasibility at the site won the new airport for Navi Mumbai against the site in Kalyan. The state team which drafted the plan for the ‘green’ airport was guided by the principal secretary in the urban development department T C Benjamin, and Cidco managing director Tanaji Satre, besides MoEF experts.
The new airport plan will ensure that mangroves on a mere 100 hectares will be uprooted against the earlier projected area of over 260 hectares. Cidco has also decided to evolve a separate mechanism that will prevent any bid by squatters to build illegal hutments around the airport area. The environmentally sensitive area will be monitored and structures which come up in the airport and nearby SEZ zones will be sound-proof. Cidco has already moved the airport 300 metres towards the south to avoid damage to the Gadhi river and a major portion of Waghivali village.
A new water channel connecting the Gadhi and the mouth of Ulve through Waghivali village will be built to take care of the water runoff from airport area during flooding and to keep the natural course of Gadhi and creek undisturbed. “The flow and depth of the Ulve river will be maintained while diverting it besides maintaining its capacity to absorb tidal flow in extreme weather conditions,” sources said. “Construction of only power saving buildings, avoiding damage to distant hillocks other than which have already been quarried and fall in the airport zone and taking care of bird species are other conditions we have complied with,” said a state official. Interestingly a BNHS report pointed out spelling mistakes in botanical names of the bird species, flora and fauna in Cidco’s reports, which it promised to correct.
After MoEF’s eco-clearance a permission from the high court will be sought to cut mangroves for airport construction and it will be a minimum nine months before actual construction begins. Connectivity
Cidco will provide Metro connectivity between Panvel and Santa Cruz via Mankhurd and the new airport and will add new roads and bridges
Dedicated bus service and a suburban rail network will also be set up to reduce air and noise pollution
Green Measures
Noise-absorbing boundary walls and signages to identify green belts were declared mandatory. Rock strata of the new airport will have engineering material to reduce noise levels to permissible limits. All structures will be sound-proof
A system to monitor pollution in creeks and channels will be evolved
Structures in the airport area will be energy efficient buildings saving up to 20% of power
Mangroves
The loss of mangroves will be only 100 hectares now as against earlier 260 hectares. There will be mangrove forests with irrigation canals on Waghivali island
Rivers
A new channel connecting Gadhi river and the mouth of Ulve will be built to take care of water runoff from the airport area during flooding and to keep the natural course of Gadhi river and Panvel creek undisturbed
A 100-metre wide riverfront on the west side of Gadhi along the boundary of the airport will be developed on the lines of the Sabarmati riverfront, with roads, pathways, promenade and garden
Ulve river’s flow and depth and its capacity to absorb tidal flow in extreme weather conditions will be maintained
Regular monitoring of quantity and quality of Ulve’s channel will be carried out besides de-silting it before every monsoon Final Measures | After MoEF’s eco-clearance, permission from the high court will be sought to cut mangroves for the airport’s construction and the process to appoint the developer will start
No comments:
Post a Comment