In December 2000, the Ministry of Civil Aviation advised the Maharashtra government to carry out detailed studies on the Navi Mumbai location.

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1 Ministry of Environment and Forests Subject: Navi Mumbai International Airport I It was in November 1997 that the Government of India first started studying the need for a second international airport for Mumbai. The Ministry of Civil Aviation constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the-then Chairman of the Airports Authority of India. This Committee submitted its report in June It recommended that the second Mumbai airport be functional by 2016/2017 and identified Rewas-Mandwa as the most appropriate location for the second airport for Mumbai. In October 2000, the Maharashtra State Government wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation suggesting that the second airport should be in Navi Mumbai and not at Rewas-Mandwa because of availability of developed infrastructure and other reasons including the fact that Navi Mumbai is within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In December 2000, the Ministry of Civil Aviation advised the Maharashtra government to carry out detailed studies on the Navi Mumbai location. In September 2001, CIDCO submitted the techno-economic feasibility study on the Navi Mumbai airport to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. In August 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) opined that with appropriate procedures in place, simultaneous operations of both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai international airports are feasible. In February 2007, CIDCO submitted the revised project feasibility and business plan report on the Navi Mumbai airport to the Government of India. 1

2 In July 2007, the Union Cabinet gave in-principle approval to a second international airport at Navi Mumbai. Thereafter, the MoE&F received a proposal from CIDCO for developing a greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai on August 27 th, This proposal was returned since it was not a permissible activity in Navi Mumbai under CRZ Notification,1991. Thereafter, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and CIDCO approached the Government of India on October 30 th, 2007 to amend CRZ Notification, 1991 to enable the new airport to come up at Navi Mumbai. In November 2007, the MoE&F was asked to initiate the process of amending the CRZ Notification, 1991 to enable the construction of an airport at Navi Mumbai. In May, 2009 the Mumbai High Court allowed the Prayer for amending the CRZ Notification, The CRZ, 1991 Amendment making the construction of an airport at Navi Mumbai a permissible activity in CRZ areas subject to neutralisation measures being taken was finally issued on May 15 th, II On June 17 th, 2009, soon after taking over, I first wrote to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra drawing attention to the serious environmental issues associated with the Navi Mumbai location covering (i) loss of mangroves; (ii) diversion of the Gadhi River and the tidally-influenced Ulwe water body; and (iii) removal of a hill. On June 22 nd 2009, CIDCO submitted a proposal to the MoE&F seeking approval for Terms of Reference (TOR) for carrying out the environmental impact assessment(eia). The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) were issued by the MoE&F on August 4 th, Considering the environmental issues involved, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoE&F undertook a site visit on December 23 rd, The visit could not take place earlier because of State Assembly elections and also because of the monsoon. 2

3 Based on this site visit, additional TOR for the EIA were issued by the MoE&F on February 8 th, The public hearing for the project was held on May 5 th, 2010 as per the EIA Notification, The final environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Navi Mumbai airport was submitted by CIDCO to the MoE&F on July 6 th, Thereafter, the EIA was considered by the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the MoE&F on July 22 nd and 23 rd, 2010 and a number of clarifications were sought from the state government. III In July and August 2010, I had detailed consultations with the Maharashtra Government and the Union Minister for Civil Aviation on the Navi Mumbai location. Three main points emerged from these interactions. The Minister of Civil Aviation brought out that international airports everywhere are built with parallel runways. This ruled out the option of having just one runway at Navi Mumbai to minimise adverse environmental impact. CIDCO explained that, apart from its easy connectivity to Mumbai, the main advantage of Navi Mumbai is that bulk of the land needed for the project (about 66%) is already in its possession (and another 12% is government land) and that fresh land acquisition elsewhere will not only be expensive but also virtually impossible. The Minister of Civil Aviation also insisted that strategic considerations ruled out the Kalyan location and sites like Wada and Rewas-Mundwa suffered from serious locational and other technical disadvantages. 3

4 IV By August 2010, it was clear that, for various technical and non-technical reasons, the Navi Mumbai location has become a fait accompli. With the constraints operating at the existing airport, the urgent need for a second airport for Mumbai, a public infrastructure, is obvious. Hence, instead of going back to the drawing board and adding at least 2-3 years more to the assessment/land acquisition process, I decided to accept the fait accompli in good faith and to ensure that the environmental concerns are fully addressed. I also requested the BNHS to carry out a rapid assessment of the project area and its findings were communicated to CIDCO. Between August and October 2010, guided by the EAC, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and CIDCO engaged in serious consultations on how to incorporate environmental concerns maximally in the project design. My request to them was simple: find ways to save the mangroves to the maximum extent possible and to minimise the diversion of rivers/tidally-influenced water bodies, even if both involve relocation of non-aeronautical facilities. Various options were considered. Certain parameters, however, simply could not be changed because of the nature of the site. For instance, the runways could not be moved south so as to save all mangroves since there is an existing highway and railway line that acts as a natural barrier. Also, the terminal building has to be between the two runways to maximise operating efficiency. The option of having one runway on stilts to minimise mangrove loss was ruled out on security grounds that have acquired greater significance following the horrific events of 26/11. The EAC visited the project site on October 20 th, 2010 and discussed the final redesign with CIDCO on October 22 nd Thereafter, it finalised its recommendations which I received on November 20 th, Given all constraints, the project redesign finally agreed to is a satisfactory compromise. After some initial reluctance, CIDCO has come around and agreed to major changes in the project proposal so as to minimise environmental losses. 4

5 The clear pluses are: 1. Non-essential airport facilities are being shifted and as a result 245 hectares of good quality mangrove park is being developed by CIDCO. 2. The distance between the runways is being reduced from 1800 meters to 1555 meters. Because of this, the Gadhi River will not need to be diverted. 3. A new 60 hectare mangrove park will be developed towards the Moha and Panvel Creek area by CIDCO. 4. Another 310 hectare area on the northeast of the airport site between the Gadhi River, Mankhurd-Panvel Rail Corridor and NH- 4B will be declared as a no development zone and CIDCO will undertake the development as mangrove park/green area after changing the sanctioned development plan of Navi Mumbai following due procedures. By the same token, the negatives are: 1. Around 98 hectares of mangroves (albeit of low quality) will be lost forever in the area where the runways are being built. 2. The tidally-influenced Ulwe water body will still need to be recoursed but a number of safeguards have been stipulated to minimise the adverse impacts, if any, of such recoursing. 3. The 90-meter high hill will need to be removed to enable smooth access to the runaways. The hill, admittedly, has already been quarried indiscriminately to significantly diminish its ecological value. On mangroves, therefore, the overall picture is as follows: Before the project, the site has 161 hectares of mangroves. Now, as a result of this compromise, the site area will have (161-98) =678 hectares of mangroves. By any standard, this is a hugely positive accomplishment from an ecological point of view. 5

6 V While giving the final environmental clearance to the Navi Mumbai airport project, the MoE&F, while accepting the recommendations of the EAC, is stipulating 32 specific conditions and safeguards. Prominent among these conditions and safeguards are the following: (i) CIDCO shall obtain necessary permission from Hon ble High Court of Bombay for cutting of mangroves and clearance under Forest Conservation Act 1980 as per the orders in respect of notice of Motion no. 417 of 2006 in PIL no. 87/2006, as required. (ii) CIDCO shall rehabilitate about 3000 families of 10 settlements from 7 villages falling within the airport zone as per the R&R policy of the Government of India or the Government of Maharashtra, whichever is more beneficial to the project-affected persons. (iii) The plantation and protection of mangroves by CIDCO amounting to 615 ha. will be implemented in the shape of biodiversity mangrove parks well before the airport is operational. (iv) A comprehensive Master Plan for Surface drainage and Flood protection, keeping in view the recoursing of the Ulwe will be (v) prepared and submitted to the MoE&F. CIDCO will put in place a contingency plan to avoid flooding of the low-lying areas all around the airport. The need for widening and deepening the Gadhi River will be studied, if required. (vi) Since the project proposal has now under gone many changes since it was first submitted, a fresh comprehensive postproject EIA report shall be prepared under the approved layout of the airport, the new hydrological scenario, altered topography and land use. The revised EIA report should also include ecological aspects answering queries raised by the BNHS. (vii) CIDCO will conduct a baseline survey of avian fauna before the start of the construction of the airport and the details will be put up every three months on the website in association with the BNHS. 6

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