Maharashtra’s Environment Department has granted environment clearance for construction of the nine-km-long Bandra Versova Sealink (BVSL) to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
The plan of a sea link between Bandra and Versova was revived after scrapping the construction of a coastal road between Bandra and Versova following strong opposition from environmentalists and locals of Bandra, Juhu and the fishermen of surrounding areas.
The sea link now becomes a part of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ambitious plan to construct a coastal road connecting the southern and northern ends of the city.
Kiran Kurundkar, joint managing director, MSRDC, said, "We have received the approval letter from the state environment department a week ago and with this we already have the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in hand. Also, the evaluation of the bids for the construction of the project is currently ongoing."