Thane Ring Metro to Claim 5380 Mangroves and 3000 Trees Ahead of Key Clearance Meeting
The ₹12,200-crore Thane Integral Ring Metro Rail Project (TIRMRP) is scheduled to come up for crucial environmental clearance on Monday, despite projected environmental impacts that include the loss of 5,380 mangroves and over 3,000 trees. The proposed mass transit corridor, executed by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited, will cut through the eco-sensitive zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and pass near the Ulhas River and the Thane Creek estuarine system.
The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) is scheduled to discuss and potentially grant clearance for the project during its meeting on Monday. While the project's ground-breaking ceremony was completed before the 2024 assembly polls, the upcoming clearance is a key step for construction to proceed.
According to project documents, the alignment will impact 29,871.87 square metres of mangrove area and an additional 40,926.53 square metres within the mangrove buffer zone. Currently, there is no finalized compensatory afforestation plan for the destroyed mangroves; this decision has been left to the Mangrove Protection Cell. However, on the Railadevi to Balkum stretch, authorities plan to replant 2,910 trees to compensate for 303 trees that will be cut.
In addition to the mangrove losses, the alignment passes through 500.32 metres of protected forest land inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park, affecting 0.7863 hectares. It also traverses 3.599 kilometres of the park's notified eco-sensitive zone, impacting 6.8721 hectares of non-forest area.
The 27.04-kilometre ring metro corridor is designed to address Thane's growing traffic congestion and population. It features 22 proposed stations, consisting of 20 elevated and two underground stations. The project also includes a 1.18-kilometre spur from Waghbil to Kasarvadavali for depot connectivity. Once completed, the network will offer multi-modal integration with the existing Thane Railway Station, Mumbai Metro Line 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavali), and Line 5 (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan).
However, the project has drawn criticism from local residents and environmentalists. Thane environmentalist Rohit Joshi noted that residents along the route have already started protesting, arguing that the ring metro will increase congestion in already crowded areas. Joshi suggested that authorities should invest in electric buses instead of the ₹12,200-crore rail system, pointing out that underground construction will make Naupada and the station area out of bounds for buses for nearly four years.
