Mumbai Even as the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is set to conduct a mandatory public hearing over a proposed 45-km natural gas pipeline through Dahanu eco-sensitive zone on January 27, the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is yet to be made public. Moreover, MPCB issued the public notice for hearing only on January 21, despite the Environment Impact Assessment notification mandating that this be done at least 30 days before the hearing date.
A truncated, executive summary of the EIA is available on the MPCB website, which environmentalists say does not provide enough details.
The proposed pipeline, being executed by Gujarat Gas Limited, will supply piped natural gas to homes in the Thane district. It will start from Umargam Road at Zai Village in Dahanu taluka, running parallel to existing roads under the custodianship of the public works department and the taluka municipality. The pipeline will terminate at Dahanu’s Kolavali village.
