HC refuses interim stay on construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji statue

Mumbai, Nov 2: The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to give interim stay on the construction of the proposed Shivaji memorial off Mumbai coast in an island in the Arabian Sea.

In February, the Bombay High Court sought response of the central and state governments to petitions challenging the grant of coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) and environmental clearance for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial.

Hearing a petition urging the Bombay High Court to put a stop to reclamation of land for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial in the Arabian Sea, the High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Centre for failing to file an affidavit seven months after a court order, the India Express reported.

The petitioners had challenged the grant of environmental clearance to the memorial. The project envisages a 210-meter tall statue of Shivaji on a small rocky island located 3.5km off the Mumbai coast.

The petition said the CRZ notification of 2011 permits memorials and allied facilities in CRZ-IV only in exceptional cases, but here under the guise of memorial, the Centre has allowed the state to construct 10 levels of exhibition halls, an amphitheatre, an oceanarium and other recreational facilities such as water sports.