While Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL) is yet to speed up work on the Netravathi Riverfront Promenade project, people continue to flock the park, which has been developed as a part of the project.

People are seen entering the park from the gate, near a private Ayurveda hospital. Passing adjacent to a tyre re-trading company, people are entering the park to spend time by sitting on benches facing the river. Children come here to play.

MSCL is executing this flagship project between Netravathi railway bridge and Bolara seaface over a length of 2.1 km. Apart from the park, the MSCL is developing a walkway, watch towers, tree houses, wishing wells, park and food kiosk. The project is slated to expose people to the riverfront. Gates to the area will be placed near the Mahakalipadpu railway underbridge and near Ayurveda Hospital.

MSCL officials said except for about 400 metres of the disputed land, work on the remaining portion will be completed. It was slated to open for public by the end of May.

Owing to the return of labourers to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for elections, work on the project has come to a halt. The labourers were expected to resume work in a couple of days, the MSCL officials said.

On March 24, the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) at Chennai disposed of applications challenging the execution of the project. The NGT directed MSCL to strictly adhere to the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011, the conditions imposed in the CRZ clearance, and all other applicable statutory provisions, to ensure seamless execution of the project.

“The project is already under the radar of not only this tribunal, but also environmental activists,” said judicial member Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava in the order.

The tribunal castigated MSCL for dumping debris on the riverbank and said proposed structures should be aligned on the landward side of the old structure constructed prior to 1991. The orders were passed in the two suo motu applications registered by the NGT Principal Bench on the basis of news reports, that were transferred to the Southern Bench.