Adani Electricity gets high court nod to cut 209 mangroves for power line project

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted permission to Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Ltd's (AEMIL) to cut 209 mangroves, "considering the importance" of the company's 1000 MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission project.

The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre observed "Considering the public importance of the proposed project, which shall benefit the electricity consumers in the city of Mumbai/suburbs and which will lead to a potential growth, in the wake of the requisite permissions being secured by the project proponent, and on testing the necessity of the proposed project and by ensuring that the necessary statutory compliance are ensured, we deem it appropriate to confer the desired permission by taking into consideration the importance of the project to the public at large".

The project, a 320 KV Voltage Source Converter (VSC) based HVDC transmission link, aims to connect the Kudus EHV Substation of the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) to Adani Electricity’s Aarey EHV Substation.

The 80-km transmission line will include 30 kms of overhead transmission and 50 kms of underground cabling, some of which will pass through mangrove forests and the eco-sensitive zones of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWLS).

The project has been under scrutiny due to its environmental impact and had required clearance from multiple regulatory bodies, including the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

During the hearing, advocates Vikram Nankani and Aditya Mehta appearing for the company submitted that AEMIL is committed to compensatory afforestation at a 1:5 ratio and has already deposited Rs 6.77 lakh for mangrove replantation.

AEMIL supplies electricity to the suburban Mumbai area, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) backed the project, citing Mumbai’s urgent need for enhanced power transmission capacity.

The court noted the significance of the project in preventing grid failures like the October 2020 blackout that disrupted the city. "In the wake of a partial grid failure in Mumbai Metropolitan region on October 12, 2020, the high-power committee constituted by MERC, recommended the expeditious implementation of the scheme on priority basis," observed the bench.

Despite opposition from the Bombay Environmental Action Group, which highlighted inconsistencies in the number of mangroves affected and potential risks to biodiversity, the court ruled in favour of AEMIL. The judges noted that the final figure of mangroves to be cut stood at 209.

With all necessary approvals secured, including Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from MoEFCC and nods from NBWL and SGNP’s Eco-Sensitive Zone Committee, the court has mandated that AEMIL file an undertaking to ensure full compliance with environmental conditions.