Goregaon-Mulund Link Road: Building tunnel will save thousands of trees, says environmentalist

In an attempt to save close to 1000 trees that could soon be cut down to make way for the GoregaonMulund Link Road passing through Aarey Colony an environmentalist has pitched a more ecofriendly alternative to the BMC an underground tunnel The suggestion has not found traction with the BMC however which had already said earlier that an underground tunnel would simply be too costly to buildWinwinBut Rishi Aggarwal the environmentalist who recently met Additional Municipal commissioner S V R Srinivas to present the tunnel proposal said that the underground route would not only serve in saving the trees and wildlife in Aarey Colony but would also shorten the distance that motorists would have to travel between Goregaon and MulundThe BMCrsquos planned GMLR is a 16km road starting from Aarey toll naka near the Western Express Highway The existing Aarey Colony road will be widened to accommodate four lanes that will wind through the colony till Powai toll naka at which point the link road will become elevated The elevated road will then run parallel to Vihar lake finally ending around LBS Marg in MulundThe activists have proposed a far shorter and straighter route starting from General A K Vaidya Marg in Dindoshi passing below Sanjay Gandhi National Park and ending at LBS Marg Mulund This route will be a mere 6 km long less than half the length of the GMLR routeldquoI explained to Mr Srinivas that the tunnel would save not only the trees but also time and fuel as the tunnel will be shorter in length compared to the proposed plan of GMLR But he was not very interested in our suggestion However I will be writing to him shortly and will continue to push for the tunnel alternativerdquo Aggarwal told this paperTunnel is feasibleThe environmentalist is adamant that building a tunnel is absolutely feasible ldquoIf tunnels can be constructed on Konkan Railway which has a difficult terrain then constructing a tunnel below the national park is not a difficult thing The proposed alignment of GMLR is far longer than the tunnel optionThere is no need to cause so much disruption in Aarey Colony by cutting 1000 trees and disturbing the habitats of leopards and other animals besides disrupting a place of solitude in Mumbai for thousands of Mumbai citizensrdquo he said adding that he would soon ask the BMC to appoint an expert to conduct a technical survey for the tunnelBMC speakWhen contacted Additional Municipal Commissioner S V R Srinivas told midday ldquoBMC had also considered the tunnel option but a group of people had opposed it saying no such structure should pass through the SGNP Taking all things into consideration we will implement the best possible optionrdquoA fiveyear battleIt should be noted that since the day the BMC decided to implement the GMLR project by widening the Aarey Colony road members of lsquoSave Aarey Milk Colonyrsquo community have opposed the project for the negative impact it would have on the biodiversity in the areaIn fact the tunnel alternative had already been suggested to the authorities five years ago back when the project was under the MMRDA Prakash Paddikal a member of the NGO HIRVA said ldquoFive years ago we had met the then metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad and had suggested that a tunnel be built insteadThere are various microtunnelling technology available these days which can be used for this projectrdquoBMCrsquos plan for GMLRLength 16 kmMode of construction OvergroundThe existing Aarey Colony road will be widened to accommodate the GMLR weaving a winding path up to the former toll naka on the Powai end of Aarey road followed by an elevated structure till BhandupStart point Aarey toll naka Western Express HighwayEnd point LBS Marg MulundPros Lower costConsgtgt Nearly 1000 trees will be felled and longer routegtgtMore manwildlife conflicts gtgtGreater risk of wildlife accidentsActivistsrsquo proposalLength 6 kmMode of construction UndergroundA tunnel will be built to cut straight through the mountain from Goregaon to MulundStart point General A K Vaidya Marg DindoshiEnd point LBS Marg MulundProsgtgt Trees and wildlife will be saved gtgt Route will shorter by 10 kmCons Higher cost