Environment Clearance in Ghodbunder Road, Thane.

On Ghodbunder Road the clearance question is less often whether one is needed than whether the one in hand still fits. Layouts here are built in phases over many years, and each change in the development rules (extra FSI, TDR loaded onto a later tower, a new amenity building) adds built-up area the original clearance did not cover. Building beyond the approved figure without an amendment is a violation that surfaces at occupation. We track approved area against every revised plan and file the amendment first.

Ghodbunder Road runs north-west from Majiwada to Gaimukh, where it climbs through the ghat towards Mira-Bhayandar and the Western Express Highway. For much of its length the hills of Sanjay Gandhi National Park rise on one side, and the land falls away on the other towards the creek and its mangroves. Between the two, farmland and village land have become towers and gated townships, Manpada, Waghbil and Owale are now names of residential neighbourhoods as much as villages. The Metro Line 4 viaduct runs along the road, and service roads, flyovers and widening have followed it. The corridor is still filling in.