Ahead of the hearing about the Balaji temple construction at Ulwe with the National Green tribunal (NGT), environmentalists have approached Andhra CM to reconsider having the project in the area.
The matter is listed with the NGT for January 17
A letter was addressed to the CM Chandrababu Naidu requesting him to reconsider the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) plan to construct the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in the flood-prone Ulwe node in Navi Mumbai.
The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD), which is governed by the state government’s Endowments Ministry, has planned the temple project in Navi Mumbai for which local city planner CIDCO has allotted a 40,000 sq mtr plot from the temporary casting yard built for the Atal Setu or the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).
“There is no objection whatsoever to the TTD/AP Govt plans to build temples in Navi Mumbai. However, authorities need to seriously consider the environmental issues as well,” Kumar said.
The rising sea levels are real and so is climate change, he said and expressed the fear that the temple project is bound to go under water.
In the letter, the NatConnect Foundation drew Naidu’s attention to the Telugu Desam Party’s spokesperson Neelayapalem Vijayakumar’s media statement in August 2023 criticising the then state government led by Jaghanmohan Reddy for hurrying up with the temple project in the face of concerns from the environmentalists.
“There is no dearth of open plots in Navi Mumbai,” Kumar said and wondered as to if it is wise to build a huge temple on the Arabian Sea coast at a time when the concerns are being expressed globally over the rising sea levels which pose dangers to the coastal areas.
“Even if the temple project site is landfilled to raise its height, the surrounding areas will be drowned,” warns the activist.
Kumar further pointed out that the temple project site is a highly ecologically sensitive zone and a flood hazard line cuts through the site.
The letter highlights that the casting yard plot was allotted in 2018-19 and the satellite picture prior to that period clearly shows the biodiversity nature of the area.
“Moreover, the coastal zone mapping itself is flawed since it has not taken into consideration the fact that the proposed TTD temple plot area, carved out of the casting yard for the Atal Setu project, was once a mudflat/sparse mangrove zone,” said the activist.
Local fishing communities used to conduct their fishing activity till they were barred entry following the construction activities at the casting yard.
A key aspect of the area is that the local fishing community has been conducting their activity here prior to the construction of the casting yard, Nandakumar Pawar, President, Maharashtra small scale traditional fish worker’s union, said.
Supporting NatConnect’s cause, Pawar said the fishing community was hopeful that they could resume their activities once the Atal Setu work is completed.
But their hopes were dashed to ground as the Venkateswara Swamy Temple Project is slated to come up in the area and the local community continues to be barred entry to the area, he regretted.
