Plans For Tirupati Balaji Temple Hit Flood-Prone Danger Line

The Ulwe Tirupati Venkateswara Swamy temple replica that was planned for Navi Mumbai has again violated environmental restrictions. Environmental organizations claim that the 10-acre plot of land set aside for the project is traversed by a coastal flood hazard line, as shown by the coastal zone management plan (CZMP). Director of the NatConnect Foundation BN Kumar has previously filed a complaint with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) contesting the plot’s allocation from a makeshift casting yard constructed for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Line (MTHL). Kumar claimed, citing a fast environment impact assessment study from the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), that the casting yard alone was constructed on 16 hectares of mangroves.

“Naturally, we have been warning the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and the authorities that the temple project is misguided in a disaster-prone area because nature will retaliate,” NatConnect stated. The NGO claimed that the plan filed omitted one essential detail: the temple property is located on a temporary landfill, which the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) recommended be cleared for a conditional CRZ. As stated in the MCZMA minutes, CIDCO and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) have reported that of the temple’s 40,000 square meter plot, 2,748.18 square meters are located in CRZ1A, 25,656.58 square meters are located in CRZ2, and 11,595 square meters are outside of CRZ.