The 17.17-kilometre (10.67 mi) bridge will connect Versova, a neighbourhood in the suburb of Andheri to the Bandra–Worli Sea Link in Bandra, as part of the Coastal Road.
[13] A cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure chaired by then Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan cleared the project on 15 January 2014.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials stated that the government had not clarified the future of the Coastal Road project, after approving the VBSL.
[12] The MSRDC received environmental clearance for the project from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) in February 2017.
[2] The agreement was signed between the winning consortium and the MSRDC on 4 September 2018, and a deadline of 24 June 2023 was set for completing the project.
[26] The Maharashtra Maritime Board prohibits work in the sea during monsoon due to the potential safety risk for workers.
[27] On 26 February 2019, the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) approved the setting up of a casting yard at Juhu Beach for the project.
The Court cancelled the permission granted by the MCZMA citing a violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) guidelines on 26 April.
[30] MSRDC officials stated that they were also exploring the possibility of renting land temporarily for use as a casting yard in case the review petition failed.
The agency also requested the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute to conduct an environment assessment report on the proposed casting yard.
[32] The 10 acre plot of land was leased from a private landowner at an annual rent of ₹34 crore (US$3.9 million), which is borne equally by the MSRDC and the contractors.
[33] Construction work on the project was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused delays due to labour shortages and other factors.
[34][7] Due to the slow progress, the MSRDC began imposing a penalty of ₹3.5 crore (US$400,000) per day on Reliance Infrastructure from 1 September 2021.
[33] The final legal challenge against the environmental clearance granted to the VBSL project was dismissed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 22 August 2022.
The Ministry appointed the Zoological Survey of India to monitor the impact on marine life and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune to conserve mangroves during the construction period.