The state coastal zone management authority has stalled the Maharashtra Maritime Board’s plan to undertake a makeover of Aksa Beach in the western suburbs. Under the proposal, which had come up before the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) earlier in the month, the MMB had proposed to repair bunds, reconstruct pathway, construct parapet wall and provide solar lights for a stretch of 300 metres. The MMB had later modified the proposal and sought permission for a seafront development. They proposed creating a garden and play area for children, parking lot, food plaza, lawns and toilet, gyms, space for yoga, wooden shacks, bamboo sheds and volleyball courts. The project was discussed at a meeting with MCZMA officials in November last year where the latter had asked the MMB to state whether the changes were as per the Coastal Regulation Zone of Environment Protection Act. The MMB has now observed that activities like food plaza, restaurant, gymkhana, and wooden shacks are not permitted on the seaward side. The MCZMA has also said that activities like landscaping, playground, recreational ground and ground will be allowed as permitted under CRZ laws. Earlier, the MCZMA had stopped the beautification of Versova beach. Environmentalist Harish Pandey of the New Link Road Association said, “Beaches are open public places and citizens of Mumbai have right to use this open space for their entertainment and no construction and concretization is allowed as per CRZ norms. It will serve no public interest.”
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