URAN, Aug. 13 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has dismissed a petition challenging construction of the Tirupati Balaji temple at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai after the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the project proponent, assured the tribunal via a sworn affidavit that no construction activity would be carried out in areas falling within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The proposed temple, modeled after the Tirumala shrine in Andhra Pradesh, will be built at a cost of Rs.70 crore, on a 40,000 square metre plot allotted by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to TTD in April 2022. The groundbreaking ceremony for the temple was originally scheduled for August 21, 2022, but was cancelled following objections from environmentalists who said the plot was originally a wetland and demanded its restoration. The ceremony was eventually conducted on June 7, 2023 after the project received CRZ clearance. BN Kumar, director of the nonprofit NatConnect Foundation had approached the NGT, citing CRZ violations and contending that the plot was originally a wetland and fishing pond before it was filled up for MTHL casting work. A study by the Institute of Remote Sensing at Anna University, commissioned by TTD, revealed that under the 2011 Coastal Zone Management Plan, 2,748.18 square metres fell within CRZ-1A (ecologically sensitive area), 25,656.58 square metres within CRZ-II (developed land areas). Only 11,595 square metres was outside the CRZ. However, as per the 2019 Coastal Zone Management Plan, the non-CRZ area was much larger, at 29,523 square metres....