The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the demolition of a promenade built along Aksa Beach in Malad West within two months, ruling that the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) constructed it without approval and in violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms.
In 2017, the MMB had proposed a sea-front beautification project at Aksa Beach, but the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) rejected it, citing restrictions on construction in the CRZ area and the risk of obstructing tidal flow, which could trigger downstream flooding.
A revised proposal in 2018 sought permission for an anti-erosion bund, which was approved in 2019 with clear instructions to avoid concrete construction on the beach as per the 2011 CRZ notification. Despite this, in 2023 the MMB built a 600-metre-long uncoursed rubble (UCR) wall with a four-metre-wide cobble-stoned pathway at a cost of ₹11.83 crore.
Environmental activists Banda Kumar and Zoru Bathena approached the NGT, arguing that the promenade, located in the intertidal zone between high and low tide lines, would block natural sediment deposition and accelerate beach erosion. They pointed out that parts of the promenade had already caved in and washed away due to tidal flows in 2023 and 2024.
In its ruling, the NGT said that although the anti-erosion wall was intended to prevent flooding and soil erosion, the MMB had exceeded its mandate and blatantly violated CRZ clearance conditions, warranting demolition of the illegal structure.
