Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), has given its approval to the coastal road project of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

MCZMA approved reclamation of 160 ha for the project and recommended the amendment of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification, 2011, to facilitate its implementation.

The project, estimated to cost Rs 8,000 crore, will connect the western suburbs to South Mumbai. By 2015, a final construction blueprint is expected to be ready, including an environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF). After that the developer will invite bids to undertake the construction of the project.

Currently, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received a proposal from four agencies, including international firms to conduct detailed engineering, environmental and social impact assessment studies, and to obtain an environmental clearance from the MoEF.

The firm selected after scrutiny will conduct a wide range of environmental, ecological and traffic assessment studies to finalise an alignment option and prepare a detailed project report and a proposal for the MoEF - all within eight months.

In the next seven months, the preliminary bid documents, and draft agreements to appoint a contractor for the project, will have to be finalised.

Though these deadlines have been set, the environmental clearance that has to be obtained from the MoEF remains an uncertainty.