Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has directed Mumbai Mile, an NGO, to restore a site in Worli to its original condition after it carried out unauthorised construction activity in a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area.The action follows violations during beautification work as part of CSR project along Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road near Mahatma Phule Nagar, where a public toilet was demolished and reconstruction began without mandatory CRZ clearance.The BMC’s G-South ward had earlier issued a stop-work notice after the organisation failed to obtain a CRZ No Objection Certificate (NOC). In its latest order, the ward office said the reconstruction violated conditions of approval, noting that under the CRZ Notification 2019, prior clearance is mandatory and there is no provision for post facto approvals. The ward office has now revoked the NOC granted for the beautification project.The directive comes after complaints by activist Santosh Daundkar, who alleged that the project obstructed a commonly used access route to a public toilet and included unauthorised construction of a wall and footpath. “The High Court and Supreme Court have categorically directed that no activity or construction of any nature shall be undertaken in CRZ areas. However, construction of a toilet within the CRZ area was carried out without permission. The road in question forms part of an Estate plot under a sanctioned scheme. No permission was obtained from the Estate Department too. How did senior BMC officials permit work to be initiated without required NOCs, including from the estate department,” questioned Daundkar.
