Navi Mumbai: Debris on Kharghar mangroves unchecked, allege environmentalists

According to environmentalists, the police refused to hear a complaint from forest department officials about debris dumping on mangroves at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai and told them to take it up with revenue officials.

Bird expert Tarang Sarin complained to the Forest and other officials about the debris dumping, following which an on-the-spot inspection was conducted.

Sarin said the Forest Department has written to CIDCO since it was found that the mangrove zone falls under CIDCO.

The latest letter from the Divisional Forest Officer-Mangrove Cell, Navi Mumbai-S L Manzare, to the revenue sub-divisional officer (SDO), requested him for appropriate action.

B N Kumar, NatConnect director, has written afresh to the CM and the mangrove committee, calling for action.

This letter exposes CIDCO's claims that they have handed over all mangroves under its jurisdiction to the Forest Department, alleged NatConnect Foundation. The foundation has earlier lodged complaints with the High Court-appointed Mangrove Committee against the destruction.

Despite the Mangrove Committee's instructions to all district collectors to ensure the transfer of mangroves to the forest department, we do not see any ground action. Kharghar activist Jyoti Nadkarni said. "Our complaints are just getting filed in a typical bureaucratic function with no perceivable Committee She regretted.

As per the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), there is a huge stretch of 180-hectare mangroves on the Kharghar side of Panvel creek, whereas CIDCO listed only 18 ha for transfer, Kharghar Hill and Wetland Group convenor Nareshchandra Singh said.

"This is causing all-round destruction and in the passing the buck game, nature suffers and no one cares," Singh lamented.

Kumar pointed out that large stretches of mangroves in Uran and other parts of Navi Mumbai are also yet to be transferred for conservation and protection.