MUMBAI, Sept. 19 -- The Bombay High Court on Thursday allowed the BMC to fell 1,237 mangroves to construct a bridge over the Malad Creek that will establish direct road connectivity between Versova and Madh Island, observing that it was "necessary and expedient for public good and in public interest". A division bench of chief justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and justice Advait Sethna noted that the proposed two-kilometre-long, four-lane cable-stayed bridge is expected to reduce the road distance between Versova and Madh Island by over 20 km and cut travel time from over an hour to 8-10 minutes. The bench clarified that it was allowing the felling of mangroves and the diversion of a mangrove forest not merely because it was characterised as a public project, but due to the combination of factors-its public utility, environmental assessment, permissions granted by statutory authorities, and the restoration cum compensatory measures proposed by the civic body. The BMC had to approach the high court due to a previous order issued in September 2018 that restrained all non-forest activities in mangrove forests and within a 50-metre buffer zone around them. The civic body informed the court that, in 2021, it had submitted a proposal affecting around 2.8 hectares of mangrove area and requiring the felling of only 560 mangrove trees. However, the alignment had to subsequently be altered to ensure that the movement of local fishermen's boats was not obstructed by the bridge. The new alignment affects around 2.5 hectares of mangrove forest, of which 0.5 hectares are slated to be lost permanently and around 2 hectares are to be restored after the work on the bridge is completed. The BMC's counsel, Aspi Chinoy, told the court that the bridge will be aligned with a 27.45-metre-wide development plan (DP) road and the Mumbai Coastal Road. The new bridge and the DP road will help divert a significant share of traffic from SV Road and Link Road, and significantly reduce traffic congestion and accidents on the New Link Road, she said. Chinoy also said that the civic body has deposited Rs.1.42 crore with the Maharashtra forest department's mangroves cell for compensatory afforestation, involving the planting of 39,000 mangroves across nine hectares. The counsel for Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), whose public interest litigation had led to the September 2018 order, argued that the authorities did not take into account the project's environmental impact when granting clearances for the bridge. However, the high court said that the project served a genuine public purpose by improving connectivity between Madh Island and Mumbai's western suburbs. "The project is clearly not one undertaken for a private commercial purpose or for the benefit of a particular private entity," the bench said....