17 July,2011 07:12 AM IST | | Saurabh Katkurwar
Land acquisition and environmental clearances delay setting up of three new Coast Guard bases in Mumbai, a security proposal made after the 26/11attacks
It took a terrorist attack in 2008 to get the Indian Coast Guard to realise that the Maharashtra coastline needed stronger protection. Now, despite another terrorist attack last Wednesday, it has come to light that the proposal to expand the number of Coast Guard bases in Mumbai, made in the aftermath of the November 26, 2008 attack is yet to be implemented. What's more, it may take another 10 years for our coastline to be fully secured.
The proposed site for an Indian Coast Guard base in Nerul. Bases were
to have been established in Panvel and Malad also. PIC/ Datta Kumbhar
The Indian Coast Guard (western region) has four bases in Worli, Napean Sea Road, Powai, and Borivli, from where surveillance teams are sent out. Immediately after the 26/11 attacks, the Centre decided to establish Coast Guard additional bases in Nerul, Panvel and Malad, taking the total number of bases to seven.
However, two and a half years on, the land for these has still not been procured. The transfer of land from the state government to the Indian Coast Guard will take nearly two years, and environmental clearances, including a Coastal Regulation Zone nod, may delay the project by at least another six to eight years.
Regional Public Relation Officer of Indian Coast Guard (West) Commandant R V Prasad said, "In the aftermath of the 26/11 attacks, the central government realised the importance of strengthening our coastline and called for the expansion of the Indian Coast Guard in the western region. However, after getting possession of the land, we will have to get the environmental clearances as well. The transfer of lands from the Maharashtra government to Indian Coast Guard is expected to be finished in a year or two. It will take at least six to 10 years for these three sites to become operational."
The Coast Guard is however, keen to fast track the expansion of Coast Guard bases in the city from four to seven, after Wednesday's serial bombings in the city left 19 dead and over 130 injured.
The Coast Guard has already increased surveillance of the city's coastline in the past few days. "We have increased patrolling in the sea boundary after the serial blasts. But we require the proposed infrastructure projects to be implemented on a fast track basis. It will not only secure the boundaries in a stronger way, but will also prevent all untoward movements in the sea," said a Coast Guard official on condition of anonymity.
"The expansion covers recruitment and training of personnel, inclusion of hovercrafts, storage facilities and other infrastructure needs, that demands more land," said Prasad.u00a0 The new base at Nerul will have a recruitment and training centre, general storage depot for oil, a port for hovercrafts and a helipad, while the Panvel site will have Bureau of Naviks (sailors), and a storage facility.
At present, the Nerul land is in possession of the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. "The transfer of the land is under process," said an official of CIDCO's Planning Department on condition of anonymity.
