SGNP authorities approve underground Goregaon-Mulund Link Road project

The Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project has reportedly been approved by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) authorities. The Rs 38-billion project is expected to start near Film City and will end at Mulund. The six-lane road project will reportedly go 5 m under SGNP. The site was reportedly visited by SGNP authorities and Conservator of Forest (CCF) and a clearance was recommended. The project was cleared as the basis of not having any negative impact on the biodiversity of the park. The project was proposed for fulfilling the current and future travelling and transportation requirement of Mumbai and Thane city residents. The proposed project is a twin tunnel road which is designed for 3+3 lanes. The length of the road including the approach road is 5.5 km, while the total length of GMLR is expected to be 14 km. The project will reportedly begin from Film City and end at Mulund East in Nahur village near Amar Nagar. On account of the project being underground, no trees are expected to be cut down for the construction of the road project. Also, land acquisition in SGNP is not required and there would not be any adverse effects on the the water supply system and the lakes situated in the area. However, the GMLR was expected to pass through Aarey Milk Colony’s main road, which would have required cutting down of more than 600 trees.