The Supreme Court has upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision allowing Adani Cementation to remove 158 mangrove trees for the construction of a jetty project along the Amba River in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.
This project, which occupies an area of 1.26 hectares within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) designated for mangrove forests, is intended to facilitate the transportation of cement and other materials via waterways, alongside a conveyor corridor and access road to support a cement grinding and fly ash processing unit and a backup storage unit in Shahapur and Shahabaz. It aims to meet the increasing cement demand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The bench, led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, dismissed a petition from the Bombay Environmental Action Group, which argued that the High Court did not adequately recognize the ecological sensitivity of mangroves and their role in coastal integrity, asserting that their destruction could jeopardize Maharashtra’s coastal environment.
The NGO criticized the High Court ruling, stating, “It fundamentally erred in prioritizing commercial interests over the critical ecological importance of mangroves.”
In response to the rising cement demand in coastal areas and the traffic congestion in the MMR, Adani justified the project as part of a move to lower carbon emissions and mitigate pollution while supporting infrastructure development in Mumbai, positioning it as a matter of public interest.
The High Court, on March 5, allowed the project, acknowledging the need for sustainable development and balancing project necessity with ecological considerations. The court found no issues in granting the necessary permissions to Adani, provided that various statutory conditions for environmental protection were strictly adhered to.
