MUMBAI, Feb. 5 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Mangrove Cell and chief conservator of forests have been served a legal notice over the alleged cutting of mangroves for the Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road project without statutory approvals and in violation of a high court order. The proposed arm of the coastal highway, which aims to improve north-south connectivity along Mumbai's western suburbs, passes through coastal and intertidal zones. Since these include mangroves, it requires clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, approvals from the Union environment ministry and compliance with high court directions on mangrove protection, said Stalin Dayanand, director of non-profit Vanashakti, which has served the legal notice. In its notice, the organisation has asked authorities not to permit the cutting of mangroves without obtaining Stage-II final forest clearance under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, and without complying with the high court's orders. It has alleged that permissions claimed by the authorities are illegal and that work has begun despite the absence of final clearance from the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. The notice cites a high court order dated December 12, 2025, which states that any activity involving mangrove destruction prior to Stage-II clearance is illegal. The court had also directed that compensatory mangrove afforestation cannot be post-facto and must be carried out simultaneously or prior to any permitted destruction. Stalin told HT that mangrove destruction had begun well before the high court granted permission. According to him, work inside mangrove areas in Malwani has been underway for several months. The court had earlier directed the BMC and other petitioners to file an interim application every year for ten years, along with comprehensive status and audit reports supported by affidavits signed by the municipal commissioner, the Mangrove Cell and the principal chief conservator of forests. The court warned that failure to file these reports by January 12 each year would amount to contempt. However, Ronita Bhattacharya Bector, counsel for Vanashakti, said no such interim application or compliance affidavit was filed in January. Stalin alleged that commencing work before securing permissions was a deliberate attempt to pressure by citing project progress and public expenditure, adding that the high court was not informed that work had already begun. BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani dismissed the allegations in the notice and told HT, "We receive such notices routinely. All necessary sanctions and permissions have been taken, and nothing illegal has occurred. If the matter is taken up by the court, we will place the records before it. There is no requirement to respond to a notice at this stage."...