BATTLE FOR MANGROVES CONTINUES
All human activity banned in city’s mangrove zones
Clara Lewis Times News Network 6TH October 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai’s mangroves have recently been declared as reserved forests. The government will now appoint a forest settlement officer to settle claims of all inhabitants on mangrove land. What this means is that all human activity is now strictly prohibited in the mangrove areas.
“Once the settlement is done, no activity will be allowed in these areas. This will help in better protection of the mangroves,” said an official. Earlier, these mangroves were classified as protected forests which allowed human activity.
This protective shield, though, is only for mangroves on government land. In all, 277 hectares in the island city and 3,720 hectares in the suburbs have been declared as reserved forests, said N Vasudevan, chief conservator of mangroves. Another 1,471 hectares in Navi Mumbai will also be declared as reserved forests. Along with Raigad, around 8,862 hectares will be declared as reserved.
Figure 1 Protected Forest Department Sign in Mangroves used to hang clothes at Dahisar
Since the Indian Forest Act speaks of only Protected and Reserved Forests, mangroves on private lands continue to be vulnerable. Navroz Modi of Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) said the high court had stated there should be no distinction between mangroves on private or on government land.
“The government must extend the same protection to those on private land,” he said.
Coal depot shift may revive mangroves
Mangroves at Sewri, which had been destroyed due to dumping of coking coal, may now get a chance at restoration. The coal depot of Mumbai Port Trust has been moved from the site. However, this decision by MbPT comes late in the day as the soil’s top layer is already contaminated by coal and the mangroves are destroyed.
The Bombay high court had earlier issued notices to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and MbPT. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) had prepared a report on the contamination, which revealed that debris had destroyed the mangroves by completely choking the upper layers of soil. Stalin D of Vanashakti, who had filed an affidavit in court on the issue, said, “The real cause of destruction is the presence of coke particles, which are destroying the wetlands.” TNN COVER FOR GREEN
GOVT ACTION | Mumbai’s mangroves have been declared as reserved forests. All human activity is now strictly prohibited in mangrove areas
Island city | 277 hectares of government mangrove land
Pockets in Colaba, Dadar Naigaum, Sewri, Dharavi and Mahim Suburbs | 3,720 hectares
Pockets in Juhu, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Borivli right up to Dahisar in the western suburbs and along the Eastern Express highway in the eastern suburbs
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