In a meeting with the Expert Appraisal Committee last month in New Delhi, the state government had said that it would consider minimising the diversion of the Gadhi as much as possible but without compromising on the alignment of the runway and other aeronautical requirements of the airport. The project needs the Ulwe and the Gadhi rivers to be diverted but the Environment Ministry is not happy about this.

“They will examine whether the diversion of the river can be modified so that maximum eco-sensitive and mangrove area is saved,” said a senior state government official involved with the project, adding that this would be done “without compromising the runway safety”. He also said that the runway needed to be at a safe distance from the Gadhi river, which was a tidal river with salt water and could erode the runway if the two came into contact.

The team will also be accompanied by senior officials from the state Urban Development Department, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and consultants including the US firm Louis Berger and the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune.

The official added that another meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee was also likely to be held in New Delhi later this month and said that the committee was also planning to visit the site before the meeting. But the date of the visit is yet to be finalised.

In lieu of the 400 acres of mangroves which will be cut to make way for the project, the state government is planning to go in for compensatory afforestation at Dahanu in Thane district, an eco-sensitive zone, which would make it easy to monitor.