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After years of relentless efforts to protect mangroves, running from one department to another, High courts to Supreme courts, citizens of Mumbai who have been fighting to save mangroves can heave a sigh of relief, albeit small.

The Government, realizing the growing threats to mangroves in the city, and also realizing the importance of mangroves to the city’s ecosystem, climate and fisheries, has decided to hand over charge of protection of the city’s mangroves to a special cell.

A large patch of mangroves in the middle of a protected mangrove forest was cut by a notorious builder in Dahisar West

The Hindustan Times carried the article recently:

17 Apr 2013Hindustan Times (Mumbai) by Nikhil M Ghanekar nikhil.ghanekar@hindustantimes.com

Protected mangroves will be put in special cell’s care

MUMBAI: The forest department is now planning to transfer the responsibility of protecting mangroves in the state’s five coastal districts from its territorial division to the mangrove cell, which was set up by the state government nearly a year ago to protect and conserve the wetland vegetation.

The forest department has prepared a draft resolution for the move and sources say it will be finalised within a month.

This means 4,300 hectares of notified protected mangroves in the city will now be looked after by a specialised team. The new plan will also add much needed manpower to the understaffed mangrove cell, which will then have to protect 18,600 hectares of mangroves spread across Mumbai Island city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg from encroachments, destruction and pollution.

All of these duties currently come under the jurisdiction of the territorial division of forest department.

“The cell has reviewed the condition of mangroves across the four districts in the past year. It has technical expertise and experience to protect and conserve them with the help of the territorial division,” said a senior forest official, requesting anonymity.

According to the draft plan, an assistant conservator of forest will be the nodal officer responsible for protection and conservation in each of these five coastal districts. Besides this, the new setup will include three range forest officers, seven foresters and eighteen forest guards.

Until now, the mangrove cell has taken up a statewide afforestation plan through which 10 lakh new mangrove saplings will be planted. Charkop, Bhandup, Ghodbunder Road are already home to five lakh mangrove saplings.