Mumbai, Sept. 17 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday ordered the promenade along Aksa beach in Malad West, built by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), to be dismantled within two months as it had been constructed without due permission and in violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms. The MMB had, in 2017, proposed to develop and beautify the sea front at Aksa Beach. But the proposal was turned down by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) as the area fell within the coastal regulation zone (CRZ), where construction activities were restricted. A solid structure would also obstruct tidal flow and potentially lead to downstream flooding, the MCZMA had said. In 2018, the MMB submitted a fresh proposal to protect the shoreline with an anti-erosion bund. The MCZMA approved the proposal in 2019, but advised authorities to avoid concrete construction on the beach, as it could lead to erosion and was not permissible as per the 2011 CRZ notification, minutes of the MCZMA meeting said. In 2023, the MMB constructed a 600-metre long uncoursed rubble (UCR) wall along the beach, alongside a four-metre wide cobble-stoned pathway, at a cost of Rs.11.83 crore. Subsequently, city-based activists Banda Kumar and Zoru Bathena approached the NGT, saying the promenade ran through the middle of the beach and would block deposition of natural sediments on the landward side, eventually eroding the beach. The promenade was built in the intertidal zone or area between the hightide and the lowtide lines, which is ecologically sensitive, said Bathena. "No wonder, a part of the promenade caved in last year due to tidal flows. Even this year, at least one-third of the promenade got washed away," he added. The NGT in its order said the MMB had exceeded and flagrantly violated the terms and conditions of the CRZ clearance. HT reached out to the MMB for comments on the NGT order but did not get any response....