‘Stop building wall near Malad mangroves’
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) directed the Indian Navy Station (INS) – Hamla – in Marve, Malad (West) to stop the construction of a wall near mangrove forests.
The development comes after the state mangrove cell submitted a report to the BMC on Monday, stating the debris dumped by INS was in violation to Bombay high court (HC) orders on the protection of mangrove forests.
On Sunday, the work stopped after Marve residents informed the police and the BMC ward office about two dumper trucks and excavator machine dumping debris at the site.
“We have been filing complaints with BMC, the mangrove cell and the police about the destruction of mangroves for many months. However, no action has been taken. Over the past one week, we have been trying to get hold of violators who have been illegally dumping debris in close proximity from the mangroves at night,” said Jassi Nelson Koli, a resident and one of the complainants.
“We stopped the truck drivers on Sunday until police and BMC officers arrived, and ensured debris was not dumped.”
Residents approached the BMC ward officer on Monday.
Sanjog Kabare, the ward officer of P North ward, BMC, said, “Prior to Sunday’s incident, we had asked INS Hamla officers to stop the construction of the boundary wall, considering there are allegations of mangrove
MARCH 7, 2018
MARCH 9, 2018
MAY 25, 2018
Reji Abrah . n , at the rev med that mangroves had in fact been destroyed at the site. In another report on May 25, Abraham had also alleged that a golf course had been planned at the site, but the Navy denied all allegations.
destruction against them. We stopped the work on Sunday and had a meeting with the residents and INS officers. We directed INS to stop all work at the site until further notice. A site visit has been planned with residents and authorities on Tuesday.”
The navy stood by its original stand that there was no violation of law.
“There is no illegal activity at the site. The land is owned by INS. On one side of the land, which is along the road, all the permissions are in place to carry out the activity. The other side has a
creek and mangroves. No construction or debris dumping has taken place there,” said commander Sridhar Warrier, the chief public relations officer of the Southern Naval Command.
“To prove this, the navy has proposed a site visit for authorities and residents,” Warrier further added.
Noting the public interest litigation filed by an NGO, Bombay Environment Action Group, in 2005, the Bombay HC banned the destruction of state-wide mangroves and construction within 50-m of them.
The state mangrove cell said they drafted a report on Monday highlighting that debris were being dumped less than 50 metres from mangroves.
Prashant Deshmukh, range forest officer (West) of state mangrove cell, said, “The land is owned by INS. However, debris cannot be dumped on it as it violates HC orders. We had informed BMC a few months ago to not issue permissions to dump debris. Our latest report on Monday clarifies that work at the site is an environmental violation, and needs to be stopped.