Fill Up Your Tanks - Marine Drive 2.0 Is On Its Way!

There are a few images which are quintessentially Mumbai. The Gateway of India, CST Station at dusk and of course, the bright lights of the Queen’s Necklace shining out over the darkened bay. Since it was built in the 1940’s, Marine Drive has made itself in an integral part of daily life. The 3.6 kilometre long stretch linking Nariman Point and Malabar Hill eased traffic while also becoming a popular hangout spot for the Mumbai youth.

This year sees the birth of a whole new era with the construction of what is being called Marine Drive 2.0. The planned roadway is going to stretch along the Eastern coastline between Wadala and Mazagaon docks and will be double the length of its west coast counterpart at 7 kilometres. The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is putting the finishing touches on their 350 hectare master plan and hope to be finalised in the next four months. If all goes according to plan, the construction and implementation of the project will commence and should take 6 years to complete.

The plans include an 40 hectare ecological garden, a marina with parking for private yachts and a ferry wharf for water transport between Navi Mumbai and Alibaug. The Elephanta Caves have also been accounted for and they intend to build a ropeway between the island and Haji Bunder. Aside from increased tourism, it will also provide a means to supply the island with electricity, something that’s always posed a problem.

They are also taking this opportunity to unify the Central Government Offices (CGO) which are currently spread across the city. The MbPT intend to build a complex over 15 hectares to bring them all under one roof. This however means relocating around 10,000 hutments over 50 hectares to make way for this construction.

There has been some opposition from environmentalist groups who claim that the unused land should be returned to the city and protected as open space. “Except for proposal for ecological park, all other proposals are in the direction of denying the open spaces which this city desperately needs.“ said Debi Goenka, executive trustee of the NGO Conservation Action Trust. They also pointed out that this would be defying former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi’s assurance in the 1980’s that any land not needed for port operations would be protected.

If it does become a reality, Marine Drive 2.0 could open up a host of new possibilities for the city but nobody can ascertain the detrimental effects it could have on the environment. With luck the pros and cons will be weighed impartially, taking into consideration the overarching price of progress.