Dia Mirza calls for scrapping of Mumbai's Coastal Road Project, suggests alternative

Dia Mirza called for scrapping of the proposed Mumbai coastal road project. The actor, who is also a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations for Environment, suggested that the Rs 13,000 crore being used for the project, should instead be used to improve public transport in the city. The 37-year-old added that safeguarding the livelihoods of the fishing community too was something that could be done with the scrapping of the project. 

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Dia used the hashtag #ChalaMumbai that translated to ‘Let’s go Mumbai’. She wrote on Twitter,  “Mumbai should scrap the proposed #CoastalRoad Project. And instead spend the 13,000 crore rupees allocated to it on improving public transport in the city and safeguarding the livelihoods of #Mumbai's fishing communities.” Along with the tweet, she shared a graphical representation of some of the facts of the project.

The facts stated that on the application of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC), the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority had approved the project in January 2017 and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave its consent in May that same year. In December 2018, the work on the project  begun, but by March 2019, environmentalists, fisherfolk, urban planners and researchers had protested against the project by filing nine Public Interest Litigations (PILs). And in April 2019, it came to light that the project had not received the environmental clearance to commence work at the project site, that was under Category 1 of the India’s Coastal Regulation Zones(CRZs). In July 2019, the Bombay High Court had stayed further work on the project, while quashing the clearances. "It is obvious that a serious lacuna has occurred in the decision-making process. We hold that there is lack of proper scientific study and this has been overlooked by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), the EIA and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)," it had said. 

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In support of her argument, Dia shared another graphic that termed the project as ‘inefficient’ since it was only catering to the car-owning elite, only six per cent of how many people could benefit with Metro Line 3. It also claimed that the porject was likely to affect the livelihoods of the Koli fisherfolk, 'Mumbai’s original inhabitants', who were reportedly not consulted for the project. Even the city’s inter-tidal zone, that is rich with over 300 species, stood at a risk with the project, the graphic claimed. Another point made was how climate change is set to affect the city by 2050, with sea level rise and flooding being projected in the near future. On October 23, it was reported that the Supreme Court is set to hear the pleas challenging the Bombay HC order that had quashed the clerances given to the project, as per reports. 

Here’s the post   

Previously, Dia had also raised her voice against the alarming rise of pollution levels in Delhi a few days ago. At that time, she had tweeted, “It is baffling that the @BCCI has decided to go ahead with the T20 match despite the AQI’s severe 412! This complete denial of the hazards of exposing ourselves to pollution is what cripples our ability to seek and implement swift solutions. #MyRightToBreathe #BreatheLife." "@BCCI please stop hiding your head in the smog. This air harms players and the people that come to watch these games. Accept the #AirQuality is severe. Acknowledge it’s harmful effects. DRIVE ACTION!!! You are so powerful. Use your collective might to HELP. #BeatAirPollution,” Dia had written. 

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