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NGT recalls Mumbai Coastal Road construction noise pollution orders
The tribunal had ruled that noise levels in residential areas must not exceed 55dB during the day and 45dB at night
First India Bureau Mumbai: Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), the execution partner of the Mumbai Coastal Road (South) project, has filed a plea, leading to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recalling its orders regarding the project’s construction.
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According to the Noise Pollution Rules, the tribunal ruled in August that the maximum allowed noise lev- el in residential areas during the day should be 55 dB and during the night it should be 45 dB.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has been instructed by the tribunal to bring the noise pollution within permissible limits within three weeks. Failure to do so will result in the tribunal taking action against the defaulting agency. Prior to the tribunal’s ruling, AVP Partners’ counsels Ativ
Patel and Siddhant Buxy, representing HCC, argued that any adverse ruling against their client would be a violation of natural justice as they were not given a chance to be heard.
A Joint Technical Committee (JTC) had recommended on December 20, 2011 that around 35.60 km of the coastal road be constructed, involving a cost of around Rs5,303 crore. The project is supposed to provide benefits like easy access to basic services and various products, access to improved health and education facilities, strengthening of the economy by easy transportation of various materials of daily use, etc.
The proposed connectivity project in Mumbai is expected to reduce commuting time by 70% and fuel consumption by 34%, while also reducing carbon footprint. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) was allowed by the Supreme Court to proceed with the pro- ject, which was halted by a Bombay High Court order. However, contractor HCC has expressed concern that the Board may take coercive action against it in the future. The National Green Tribunal’s Pune bench noted that the prescribed noise levels cannot be maintained due to the construction activity, but also acknowledged that higher noise levels already existed due to traffic and sea waves.
