Maharashtra wants 8.8 hectares of forest area from Sanjay Gandhi National Park for road project

Ghodbunder Road leads out of Thane connecting the Eastern Express Highway on one end and the Western Express Highway on the other

Mumbai's already-stressed green cover could shrink further, with the state road body seeking clearance to utilise 8.8 hectares of forest from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park for an elevated carriageway along the Thane-Ghodbunder highway.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which is implementing the Rs 510-crore project, has approached the Union environment ministry to divert a part of SGNP, as big as the Oval Maidan, said sources.

SGNP has one of the highest density of leopards anywhere in the world and is constantly under threat, said activists.

Ghodbunder Road is one of the major thoroughfares leading out of Thane city connecting the Eastern Express Highway on one end and the Western Express Highway on the other.

This road carries a significant load of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust-bound traffic to and from Gujarat. A stretch of the road abuts SGNP and the Vasai creek.
MSRDC wants to construct a 4.8-km-long elevated road as part of its efforts to upgrade the Ghodbunder Road. For the extra space, it has requested the Centre to divert 8.84 hectares of forest for the project, worrying environmentalists and activists.

Also Read: Cyclone Tauktae: More than 100 trees fall in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, over 50 in Aarey colony

Environmentalist Rohit Joshi said authorities have planned multiple projects that threaten leopard movement.

He said, "In the past two years, we have witnessed leopards abandoning cubs in SGNP due to constant urbanisation around the park. SGNP has already been split into two sections due to Ghodbunder and Ahmedabad highways."

Joshi said there are enough roads to reach the western suburbs from Thane. "There's also an underground road sanctioned through SGNP. This project is completely unnecessary. This shows how serious the MVA government is about protecting our wildlife."

A few activists feel the government must take measures to lessen the impact of infrastructure on SGNP's ecosystem.

Green activist Zoru Bhathena said, "If you travel on the Srinagar-Kanyakumari Highway, through the wildlife reserves of Madhya Pradesh, you will find beautifully designed elevated highways crossing over the forests, with very minimal damage to the forest land below. If MP can save its wildlife and forests, surely Maharashtra can, too. Time we looked at what MP has done, and do it even better in Maharashtra."