Tirupati Balaji temple row: NGT seeks response from MCZMA, forest dept
Hindustan TimesThe National Green Tribunal has sought to know from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and the chief conservator of forests about the status of the construction of a Tirupati Balaji temple at Ulwe, a project which environmentalists alleged violated coastal regulation zone rules. Kumar’s counsel Ronita Bhattacharya said MCZMA had at its 167th meeting held on May 23 recommended CRZ nod for the project without considering the fact that the temple plot was part of a temporary casting yard which had come up after destruction of mangroves on more than 16 hectares. In a press release issued in April last year CIDCO had admitted that the Balaji temple plot was part of the casting yard set up for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link. As per the minutes of the MCZMA meeting, CIDCO and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam had submitted that of the 40,000 square metres required for the temple, 2,748.18 square metres fell under CRZ1A and 25,656.58 square metres under CRZ2 while 11,595 square metres were outside the CRZ purview, the plea said.
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