To Minimize Mangrove Destruction, Thane Bullet Train Station Is Redesigned

The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited which is the agency responsible for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor which expands for 508 km said on June 6 that they have redesigned the Thane bullet train station in Maharashtra to minimize the destruction to thousands of mangroves.

The new design is said to reduce the number destroyed from around 53,000 to 32,044.

Previously, the agency had been receiving backlash from environmentalists after news broke out that 13.36 hectares of mangroves will be affected by the corridor.

Earlier this week, Diwakar Raote, Maharashtra Transport Minister, reported to the assembly that the project will affect as many as 54,000 mangroves.

Questions had been raised about the move by activists, saying that the mangroves play a vital part in the city’s ecological balance. Thus, its destruction could lead to far-reaching consequences.

In a statement, Achal Khare, NHSRCL MD said that the clearance of forest came with some conditions. One of them required a redesign of the Thane station to reduce the affected mangroves area.

And according to Khare, the design’s modification without having to relocate the station was talked over with the engineers from Japan.

He said:

So 32,044 mangroves will be destroyed, instead of 53,000.

The agency will compensate for the affected mangroves at the rate of 1:5 by investing in mangroves cell which will be used to plant new mangroves.

The project which costs about Rs 1 lakh crore will help cut down the time transiting between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to only two hours. The Japan-funded project is said to be completed by 2022.