JUDGMENT

1. In these three writ petitions, the Petitioner-Maharashtra Maritime Board is before the Court praying for directions against the respondents to permit it to execute public works interalia of construction of proposed passenger jetty and allied facilities at Kelwa, Palghar (in Writ Petition No.759 of 2020); a Ro-Ro Jetty at Kharwadashri (in Writ Petition No.1065 of 2021) and to execute work of construction of proposed jetty and allied facilities at Kharekuran, Thane (in Writ Petition No.2025 of 2021).

2. The need for filing of these writ petitions has arisen as the nature of the proposed works fall within the Coastal Zone Regulation-I (CRZ-I), in the vicinity of a mangroves zone and as per the requirement of the decision of a co-ordinate bench of this Court in the case of Bombay Environmental Action Group and another v/s. The State of Maharashtra and others (Public Interest Litigation No.87 of 2006 dtd. 17/9/2018) (for short the BEAGS Case), whereby a total freeze has been imposed on destruction of any mangroves in the State of Maharashtra. Hence to undertake any work in such zone, the Division Bench has ordered that it would be necessary for the agency intending to underta