Construction of new passenger jetty at Mumbai's Gateway of India to continue, Supreme Court dismisses plea

The project in the sea, approximately measuring 1.5 acres, will be nearly 280 metres from the Gateway of India, located near the Radio Club in south Mumbai.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea against the Bombay High Court verdict allowing the project of construction of a new passenger jetty and terminal at the iconic Gateway of India. The construction would continue in south Mumbai.

The apex court dismissed the appeal filed against the construction of a Rs 229 crore passenger jetty and terminal near the Gateway of India in Mumbai in the case of Clean and Heritage Colaba Residents Association vs State of Maharashtra & Ors.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran dismissed the appeal filed by one Laura D Souza against the high court verdict. It said that the issue fell under the policy domain of the government.

The bench passed the order on an appeal filed by Clean and Heritage Colaba Residents Association against a July 15 order of the Bombay High Court which had approved the jetty subject to certain conditions on what all facilities can be provided at or near the terminal.

The high court on July 15 had dismissed three petitions challenging the construction of the Rs 229 crore passenger jetty and terminal facility proposed by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) near the Gateway of India.

The High Court had given the green signal to the Jetty project to proceed, provided, the Amphitheatre theatre proposed as part of the project will be used only as a sitting facility and not for entertainment purposes.

It said that the cafe at the facility will only serve water and packed food and not provide any dining facility. It also said the existing Jetty should be discontinued in a phased manner.

The court had also noted the lack of any sewage treatment facilities in the proposed project, but declined to pause the project, calling for a balanced and sustainable approach in its execution.

The project in the sea, approximately measuring 1.5 acres, will be nearly 280 metres from the Gateway of India, located near the Radio Club in south Mumbai.

According to the plea, the project plan involves parking of 150 cars, VIP lounges/waiting areas, amphitheatre and ticket counters/administrative areas along with a huge tennis racquet-shaped jetty on stilts in the sea.

It was alleged that the project would cause inconvenience to locals as the issue of traffic congestion has not been considered.

With inputs from agencies