NAVI MUMBAI: There are fresh reports of mangrove destruction by way of debris dumpings at Dhutum in Uran taluka, leading to multiple complaints to the state authorities by environmentalists.
Responding to environmentalists’ complaints, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked environment principal secretary to look into the burial of wetland and mangroves at Dhutum.
Activist Nandkumar Pawar of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan (SEAP) sent a separate complaint for which the CM has asked the revenue secretary Niten Kareer to look into the issue.
The environmental crime has been repeatedly happening at Dhutum with truck-loads debris and soil dumped on mangroves, NatConnect Foundation and Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan stated in their fresh missive. This time, the landfill has come to notice near Sai Leela hotel and Ziya yard, Dhutum.
"These perpetrators are getting encouraged due to the inordinate delay in handing over mangroves to the forest department for conservation as reserve forest as per the Bombay High Court order of September 2018,'' said B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation.
Cidco, which acquired lands for development, is yet to account for mangroves in Uran, including NMSEZ, and many other parts, he said. The handing over of 68 hectares on Monday was a case of “too little, too late”, NatConnect said in a tweet.
JNPT, which admitted that there are 913 hectares of mangroves under its jurisdiction too, has delayed the process of transferring the mangroves to the Forest department under the pretext of going for a high-resolution survey, Pawar said and cautioned the government that the delay is costing the environment.
"With the CM specifically marking the response mail to environment secretary Manisha Mhaiskar Patankar, and the revenue secretary, we expect concrete action down the line," said Pawar.
"CIDCO has informed us that the area has been allotted to JNPT while the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Committee (MCZMA) confirmed that no CRZ clearance has been given for the landfill," Kumar said.
It is sad that the so-called concerned authorities remain unconcerned till complaints are lodged, pointed out Pawar. "Even when the officials act, they file FIRs against insignificant people such as truck drivers and paan shop owners, while the big fish escape scot-free," Pawar said.
The Dhutum area has been reclaimed earlier for a truck parking lot, but the FIR has been filed against a small shop owner, he said.
On an earlier occasion, the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Committee (MCZMA) had earlier asked the Raigad District Coastal Zone Monitoring Committee to investigate and report. "We have not heard anything after that," Kumar pointed.
