While the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has given clearance to the construction of a bridge connecting Versova and Madh, activist Godfrey Pimenta in his letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has claimed that the project will destroy the peace and tranquility of the sparsely populated Madh Island.

Pimenta also claimed that the proposed construction of Madh-Versova bridge would increase the population in the said region to 10 lakh in a few years. On February 25, trustees of NGO Watchdog Foundation Nicholas Almeida and advocate-activist Godfrey Pimenta had written a letter to CM Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Urban Development Department (UDD) Manu Kumar Srivastava and the BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal.

“Actually the idea of having a bridge is to help the developers, who otherwise had no takers for many proposed residential real estate projects in the region because of the circuitous route earlier from Malad West side to reach Madh Island. The area commands high premium due to proximity to the sea… the developers greed is leading to infrastructure boom,” the letter stated.

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Expressing concern, the activists claimed that the bridge would rob the locals of their fishing activities. “That apart, the existing ferry service would be rendered non-operational thereby leading to loss of employment. The same story would be repeated at Manori Ferry Service and Gorai Ferry service. We therefore demand that the Mumbai Development Control and Promotions regulation 2034 (DCPR), which has proposed affordable homes in the Madh region should be exclusively reserved only and only for the sons of the soil viz. East Indians, Kolis, 

Agris, Bhandari’s and local Adivasis.” Pimenta also said that the state government should ensure that the current houses of locals of Versova and Madh region are not adversely affected or impacted. Versova Resident Nandu Patil said that while the bridge will help solve commuting woes between Madh and Versova, it will also result in traffic-related issues. “This will put additional burden on existing civic infrastructure [like water supply, sanitation, and garbage disposal],” he said.

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