Bombay High Court permits BMC to cut over 1,200 mangroves for Versova-Madh Island bridge

The Bombay High Court has permitted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to cut 1,237 mangroves to build a bridge that connects Versova and Madh Island in the western suburbs of Mumbai.

The bridge is expected to reduce the distance of travel between Versova and Madh Island from 22 km to 1.5 km.

The court on September 17, 2026, set conditions including the plantation of 39,000 mangroves over 9 hectares, monitoring for 10 years, deposit of ₹1.42 crore, and an undertaking. The order came from a Bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna.

The Bench held that the project is for infrastructure and for residents, stating that is not for a particular company.