Sand mining mafiahacked1,000 mangrovetrees,allegefishermen
Activity will lead to flooding in Navi Mumbai, says activist; govt to send details to collector
MUMBAI: Weeks after the state mangrove cell released a report highlighting a 133-hectare increase in mangrove cover across 11 locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Navi Mumbai residents have alleged that five hectares of mangrove forests have been cleared illegally by the sand mining mafia.
A fishermen’s group named Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP) filed a complaint with the state’s wetland grievance redressal committee and the Konkan commissioner on Thursday, alleging that over 1,000 mangrove trees were hacked and sand was being excavated illegally using suction pumps in an area near a creek between Khandeshwar and Mansarovar railway station.
“Rampant mangrove destruction is taking place in several areas since the construction of the Navi Mumbai airport,” said Nandkumar Pawar, head of SEAP. “Losing ecologically-sensitive areas will lead to severe flooding during heavy rain .”
The wetland grievance committee said they had taken cognisance of the complaint. “We are in the process of drafting a detailed letter to the Raigad collector attaching the complaint and asking for an action taken report,” said JR Gowda, secretary of the committee.
HT visited the site on Friday morning and found many mangrove trees either uprooted or chopped at their base. Sand was heaped on either side of the creek. Boats were parked with sand excavation machinery in them.
There is a group that admitted to carrying out sand mining activity in the area but its leader, Prem Yadav, denied the allegations. “We did not destroy any mangroves. We have been removing sand for the past two months using machines from the creek with permission from the Raigad district administration,” he said. However, the district administration said no permissions were issued for mechanical sand dredging. “This is a large scale violation. Our officers will visit the site to take stock. Such cases of mangrove destruction, followed by sand excavation are being witnessed in Raigad. We have confiscated vehicles and 60 suction pumps from an area within MMR ,” VIJAY SURYAWANSHI,