The controversial CRZ property at Seawoods of Nerul’s tender procedure has been cancelled by the City & Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco).
Prior to its sale auction, local neighbours and environmentalists had voiced their opposition. Despite being pleased with the most recent development, the protestors demanded that Cidco abandon plans to profit from the CRZ plot.
The NMEPS (Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society) and a group of residents had previously contested the tender procedure on the grounds that the site is located within a CRZ where development activity is limited in separate petitions before the NGT. The joint petition said that the plot is close to a dense patch of mangroves and that some of the lands are really inside the mangrove buffer zone.
In the meantime, Cidco stated in their supplemental affidavit that the sale was cancelled because the bid obtained for the 25,139 sq m plot was significantly less than the going market rate.
Cidco has now provided the NGT with an undertaking that, during the re-tendering, it will be specifically stated that, in the area that is within the 50-meter mangrove barrier zone as defined by the proficient authority, the winning bidder will not interrupt the buffer area and will follow all applicable laws.
The MCZMA (Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority) has additionally submitted an affidavit to the NGT stating that a portion of the contested site is within the CRZ.
The NGT has instructed Cidco to finish the procedure within a month, present a summary of the mapping, and postpone starting the re-tendering process until the CRZ mapping is ready. The last hearing will take place on March 2.
