NAVI MUMBAI: Green activists have sent urgent messages to the forest and Raigad district authorities about reports of further destruction of the eco-sensitive Belpada wetland in Uran through massive reclamation since Friday.
Earlier in September this year, the environmentalists had complained how a ready-mix cement (RMC) plant had been illegally installed next to Belpada wetland in order to make a concrete structure there by partially reclaiming one end of the waterbody.
"The activity of reclamation had stopped after September, but has resumed on Friday. This wetland is home to many species of protected waterfowl, particularly endangered species of Ducks. We urge the authorities to immediately step in and restore the site before it is too late and meets the same fate as Dastan Phata wetland which has disappeared under mud and debris in Uran,'' said member of the Bombay high court appointed wetlands protection panel, D Stalin.
He further added: "in our PIL 87 of 2013, the high court has already said in its order that the State does NOT have to wait for a court order to restore the wetlands that have been reclaimed. The Belpada site has been identified as a Wetland by the Chief Conservator of Forests who was appointed by the court to visit and submit a report in 2014. The said report is already filed with the court. The last order of the court also mentions this report. Besides this report, BNHS report has also identified this as wetland that needs conservation.''
Local activists have also urged the police and tehsil officials to seize the vehicles which are continuously coming towards Belpada to dump debris and earth in it.
Earlier, the regional officer of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had also directed Stalin's complaint on Belpada to the district officials, which had led to the stoppage of such illegal activities. Hence, the green activists have reiterated that stern steps must be taken now to fully protect this wetland.
Stalin pointed that the satellite images of Belpada wetland since 2014/15 have shown how gradually the waterbody is being reclaimed; and so it must be restored.
