Uran wetlands: JNPT, Cidco pulled up for inaction
cognisance of the wetland and mangrove destruction cases in Raigad district, the district administration has pulled up the state government agencies for their inaction in restoring the ecologically sensitive areas.
Sub-divisional officer of Raigad district administration, Dattatreya Navale, told HT that he had issued eight notices last week —four to the City Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (Cidco), two to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and another two to the village administrations adjoining the Panje wetlands. Areas where violations were reported include a 300-acre stretch in Dastan phata; 228-acre plot in Jasai; expansion project areas of JNPT around Uran, Hanuman Koliwada, Gavhan, and Belpada admeasuring over 300 hectares (ha); a 4.5-ha Hovercraft Jetty (container terminal-4) area; and the 289-ha Panje Funde wetlands.
“Based on directions from our district collector after recurring complaints and newspaper reports regarding mangrove and wetland destruction in Uran, we constituted a team which surveyed the affected areas. We found that in most cases, high tide water had been blocked off, which resulted in mangroves dying as wetlands dried up,” said Navale. “All agencies and villagers have been asked to remove bunds or blockages to the high tide water within the next two weeks or they will face further action.”
While JNPT said they did not receive the notices, they claimed they had already drawn up a detailed plan for mangrove revival in areas under their jurisdiction. “All blockages to high tide water have been cleared and wherever debris was dumped has been removed,” a senior JNPT official said. Earlier in December, the state mangroves committee had said JNPT was booked for destroying 4,550 mangrove trees across 4.5 hectares, near Hovercraft
MUMBAI:Taking
Panje wetland in Uran was drying up after Cidco blocked off tidal water in September. After several complaints, Cidco opened flood protection gates to restore the wetlands Near JNPT storage terminal area, close to Belpada in Uran taluka, a 289-hectare (ha) mangrove patch is being destroyed through systematic debris dumping. When HT visited the site, 14 large heaps of debris and mud were spotted at the edge of the mangrove patch At the backend of JNPT storage terminal near Belpada, HT found six clusters of hacked mangrove stems, which were tied up and kept hidden. Road widening near JNPT port area and container-4 terminal has destroyed a 2-km stretch of mangrove trees, and the construction for the port and jetty area has eaten up the mudflats that were home to wetland birds
A creek, which runs from Belpada village to the JNPT port area,turned black with domestic waste and oil being dumped into it. The fishing community said the area used to be an excellent fishing zone
Near Hanuman Koliwada village, fishermen have to travel 20km every day to search for fish as the creeks nearby have been reclaimed
Jetty (container terminal-4) area, but so far, no action has been initiated by the local police.
Cidco said they have received the notices. “For each location mentioned, we have designated one officer who will survey the area, remove the blockages and file a report. Action will be completed in the given time frame,” said Pramod Patil, nodal officer, October 2013: Local fisherman Ramdas Koli moved the western bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to highlight the impact of development projects by public sector units (PSUs) on the tidal waters that had affected the livelihood of residents environment and forest, Cidco.
Environmentalists said unabated reclamation of wetlands continues and every move was being discussed only on paper. “What is happening at these wetlands is criminal,” said Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishtan (SEAP). “As per the national wetland atlas, any water body, natural or 4 villages affected: Uran, Gavhan, Hanuman Koliwada, Belpada
Fishing families affected Compensation to be paid by JNPT, Cidco and ONGC as per March 2015 Bombay HC order man-made, static or flowing, has to be treated as a wetland and hence, be protected. But, in this case, the entire landscape is being transformed into an urban setting at the cost of environment.”
Tukaram Koli, a fisherman from the Paramparik Machchimar Kruti Samti said regular construction work was underway with heaps of construction The PSUs managed to get a stay by approaching the SC. While JNPT claims they paid ₹64 crore to the SC registrar, Koli’s counsel claims that the matter remains stalemate so far as the SC benches kept changing and later,internal issues of SC came up. debris slowly killing off mangroves in Uran. “Fishing activity remains stalled with losses amounting to crores. We have been fighting for our rights for years now...” Environmentalist BN Kumar said the state cannot absolve the responsibility of restoring these sites as land has been allotted to these agencies for infrastructure development.