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The Bombay High Court has granted permission for the felling of 847 mangrove trees to enable construction of a 132 KV transmission line linked to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. The plea was filed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL), seeking approval to divert 3.35 hectares of forest land, including 1.9656 hectares of mangrove forest, in Dahanu taluka, Palghar district. The transmission line, running 13.06 kilometres between the Dahanu sub-station and the proposed Amberserai traction sub-station, was found necessary ahead of the bullet train project's scheduled inauguration in October. The court noted the project's national importance while also raising concerns over the adequacy of compensatory afforestation carried out at a distant location.
The Bombay High Court has granted permission for the felling of 847 mangrove trees to facilitate the construction of a power transmission line associated with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, describing the line as an important component of a project of national importance.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad passed the order on a plea filed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL), which had sought the court's permission to fell mangrove trees for the construction and laying of a 132 KV transmission line. The line is to run from the existing Dahanu sub-station to the proposed Amberserai traction sub-station in Palghar district, a stretch spanning 13.06 kilometres, with certain segments traversing forest land in Dahanu taluka.
The plea sought approval for the diversion of 3.35 hectares of forest land, of which 1.9656 hectares comprises mangrove forest, under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, to enable the felling of the 847 mangrove trees situated within the construction zone. Under a 2018 Bombay High Court judgment that imposed a complete freeze on the destruction of mangroves without judicial approval, all public infrastructure projects involving mangrove felling in the state are required to obtain the court's permission before proceeding.
During the hearing, the bench noted that the proposal to divert the mangroves and fell the trees had already been scrutinised and approved by the competent authorities. The court also observed that the transmission line was urgently required, given that the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the bullet train project in October, underscoring the time-sensitive nature of the infrastructure work involved.
While granting permission, the bench raised concerns regarding the compensatory afforestation plan associated with the project, noting that the proposed afforestation was to be carried out in Solapur district, several hundred kilometres from the site of the felling. The court observed that while such an arrangement may satisfy the statistical requirement for compensatory plantation, it does little to restore the ecological balance of the local area from which the mangroves are being removed.
The bench had earlier, during the course of the hearing, expressed broader concern over the loss of mangrove cover across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, cautioning that continued shrinkage of green cover in the city could have serious long-term environmental consequences. The court's observations reflected a wider pattern of judicial scrutiny applied to infrastructure projects intersecting with protected mangrove areas in the region, even as such projects proceed with the necessary statutory approvals.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, officially the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor, has previously faced scrutiny over its environmental footprint, including earlier estimates of mangrove loss along its broader alignment that were subsequently revised downward following design changes at certain sections of the route.
The order did not specify the precise timeline for completion of the transmission line following the grant of permission, nor did it detail the specific conditions, if any, attached to the compensatory afforestation requirement beyond the location identified in Solapur district.
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