Cidcomovesto revive wetlands
Citizens’ demand to save wetlands at Navi Mumbai bears fruit; Cidco opens 70 sluice gates
MUMBAI: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) opened 70 of the 76 sluice gates to revive the dying 237-hectare Panje wetlands in Uran, Navi Mumbai. The move comes after environmentalists and citizen groups had complained to the state mangrove cell that the closed sluice gates in a flood-protection barrier were stopping the flow of tide water into the wetlands. Cidco, the planning agency for Navi Mumbai, said since monsoon is over, there are no worries about flooding.
“As per directions from our vice chairman and managing director, Lokesh Chandra on Wednesday, our engineering team opened 70 gates, allowing tidal water flow to Panje wetlands from Thursday morning onwards,” said Pramod Patil, nodal officer, environment and forest, Cidco.
During the wetland grievance redressal committee meeting on Thursday, Konkan commissioner Jagdish Patil, chairman of the committee, directed Cidco to keep the sluice gates at Panje open till May 2019.
“Cidco raised concerns about flooding of nearby villages. We have asked them to monitor the situation carefully. If need be, the villagers with their consent can be relocated. As of now, the gates have to remain open for the safety of the wetlands,” said Patil.
Cidco said they follow directions
of the HC committee.
The barrier was built in the year 1991 with help from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay as a flood control mechanism. It shuts automatically during high tide and opens up during low tide, remaining closed throughout the months of monsoon. However, in the last week of September, some gates were damaged and the barrier was shut down, starving water supply into the mangroves.
HT has been reporting how the wetlands had partially dried up after high tide water was blocked on September 28, following which Navi Mumbai residents and environmentalists filed a complaint October 6: Cidco allows tidal water ingress to the Panje wetlands by opening 10 outlets
October 8: NGO Vanashakti decides to file a contempt petition against Cidco under its original petition to safeguard wetlands in state. The member secretary of the wetland greivence committee
with the state. On October 6, Cidco had opened 10 of 76 gates. But environmentalists said it was insufficient to restore the wetland.
Environment group Vanashakti decided to file a contempt petition, and the matter was to be heard by the Bombay high court (Hc)-appointed grievance redressal committee on Thursday, but Cidco acted a day prior to the meeting. “Cidco has shown sensitivity as they realised they were breaking the law,” said Stalin D, director, Vanashakti. Documentary film maker Aishwarya Sridhar, who had photographed the changes in the carries out a site inspection and says high tide water is reaching the wetland
October 10: A day before the Bombay high court (Hc)-appointed wetland grievance redressal committee was to hear the matter, Cidco vice-chairman directs his team to open 70 gates
wetland between May and October, said the plan by Cidco to open the sluice gates was a victory. “If there are flooding concerns at nearby villages, Cidco needs to remedial measures to stop it at those villages but they cannot cut off all water to a wetland site using that logic,” she said.
Nandkumar Pawar, the environmentalist who had filed the first complaint, said that the citizens highlighted the issue at the right time to stop the wetland destruction. “Using flood control mechanism, Cidco is trying to drain out such areas and sell them to private developers for housing projects,” he said. October 11: Of 76 gates, 70 are opened by Cidco, and the wetland, mangroves and holding pond area are partially restored
OCTOBER 9 Hindustan Times has been consistently reporting on the adverse environmental effects of urban development on the Panje wetlands in Uran, Navi Mumbai and the need for immediate action.