Board meeting today, MNP inclusion in Dharavi project not on agenda

Mahim Nature Park at Dharavi. Janak Rathod

The Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP) will have its Board meeting on Thursday. However, its agenda finds no mention of the recent notification by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to include the park within the area earmarked for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. The Board is supposed to have meetings every three months but sources say the meeting on Thursday is being conducted after almost a year.

“There is no mention that the SRA wants to include the park for the redevelopment project. Maybe the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is confident that they will not allow the project. However, while the CM said on the floor of the House that no construction will be allowed in the park, the notification has not been withdrawn by the SRA,” said Dr Manisha Kayande, one of the three environmentalists nominated by the government on the executive board of the MNP Society and also a Shiv Sena spokesperson.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Joint Secretary Ruben Mascarenhas said, “The board of governors need to be informed of what is happening and accountability needs to be fixed. Even when the CM is saying it is a protected forest, the process has not been completed and it needs to be completed.” However, Dr Kayande proposes to raise the matter during the meeting under item no. 9 which allows members to raise ‘any other item with the permission of the chair’. “I will raise the matter and demand that it be declared as an ‘urban forest’ and ask MMRDA to clarify its stand on this regard,” she added.

According to a senior MMRDA official, the recent controversy has not found a mention in the agenda as it is prepared much in advance. “Preparing the agenda for the Board meeting is a long process and it goes through several approvals. Thus it is made at least one and a half months prior to the meeting and the redevelopment project issue had not cropped up then. It will find a mention in the next meeting,” he said.

Dr Kayande had earlier raised objections to the proposal by writing to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The SRA had issued a notification last month seeking the inclusion of the 16.86 hectares park in the redevelopment project to increase available land.

Meanwhile, N Vasudevan, additional principal chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell, also wrote to SRA opposing the inclusion in the project. In a letter dated March 27, Vasudevan wrote, “For reasons best known to you, the MNP also figures in this notification. In this regard, I wish to point out that MNP and its adjoining area have been declared as protected forests, vide government notification dated March 16, 1991. A copy of this notification is enclosed for your kind reference. No non-forestry activity is permitted on this land without prior approval of the Central government.”