Navi Mumbai’s wetlands must be protected, says NMMC chief

NAVI MUMBAI: At the first Flamingo Festival on Saturday, the NMMC commissioner Abhijit Bangar, stressed that the wetlands must be protected in order to ensure that the flamingos and other migratory birds continue to come to Navi Mumbai.
However, Bangar added that excessive “negativity” towards Cidco for allegedly not protecting the wetlands and mangroves must be avoided, especially at such a vibrant Flamingo Festival which was held at Delhi Public School in Seawoods.
“The presence of large number of flamingos is not incidental and it denotes importance of the huge biodiversity of Navi Mumbai region. The name Flamingo City comes naturally for our city, and one need not go to any authority for this name tag,” Bangar said speaking as the chief guest on the occasion of World Migratory Bird Day.
The event was jointly organized by NatConnect Foundation, Kharghar Wetlands & Hills and Save Navi Mumbai Environment.
However, the commissioner's note of dissent on the overt criticism of original city planner, Cidco, did not gel with some of the green activists present. “While we agree that Cidco has built Navi Mumbai, they have not really done anything now to preserve the wetlands. Hence, we are raising this debate to ensure that all government agencies help towards the cause of environment,” said environmentalist of Vanashakti NGO, D Stalin.
Sunil Agarwal of Save Navi Mumbai Environment commented, “Earlier in the Bombay high court, we had won the case to save the Seawoods wetlands from the plan of a huge Golf Course. However, Cidco and a private builder went ahead and filed an SLP in the Supreme Court, which means they do not want the wetlands, despite the presence of flamingos. Anyhow, the commissioner also stated that there is always room for healthy debate on all ecological issues; so we will also keep raising our concerns.”
Bangar also appreciated the enthusiasm shown by school going children in the event and the demonstration of their love for the environment through a mini-march with placards at the venue.
Clement Ben, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wild life), said the Flamingo Festival will go a long way in spreading the good word about preserving the fragile ecological balance. He expressed the hope that this will become a people’s movement, and added that more CCTV cameras will be installed in forests, mangroves, in order to deter damage to environment and wildlife.
B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation, said the response was overwhelming and people from across Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) evinced interest and visited. As many as 70 photographs shot by wildlife photographers and nature lovers depicting flamingos and biodiversity were on display.