Mumbai: Mangroves
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Choking Mangroves in Mumbai
An Ecological Disaster Awaits Mumbai As Slums Proliferate All Along Its Creeks, Killing Invaluable Mangroves
Viju B | TNN
Standing on the terrace of his residential complex at Link Road, Harish Pandey points to the twokilometre-long slum settlement snaking through the lush green mangroves adjoining Gorai creek. Around 8,000 illegal shacks have come up along the 10km creek in the past decade, cutting through the verdant mangroves. “The Gorai creek will become another Mithi river in a few years’ time,”says Pandey.
The Mithi River flowing through Mumbai made it to the headlines, unfortunately, as its course was diverted by the Airport Authority of India to construct a runway. Over the years, slums proliferated on both sides of the bank, choking what was essentially a storm water drain for the city.
But no lessons have been learnt. In the last decade alone, around 10,000 hectares of mangroves are estimated to have been systematically destroyed along the Mumbai coast. The city is slowly paying the price — be it in rise in atmospheric pollution, severe water logging or floods.
The major creeks and rivers that flow around the island city — be it Gorai creek, Vasai creek or Thane creek — are crucial outlets that protect the city from possible floods; its wetlands have 65sqkm of verdant mangroves which act as organic ramparts for the creek. More importantly, the mangroves are natural purifiers, reducing atmospheric and water pollution besides preventing erosion of the fragile coast. Mangroves are also a haven for marine life, hosting a rich ecosystem of several species of plants and animals.
“The latest destruction of mangroves is going to take place in Panvel for the proposed Navi Mumbai International airport,” rues Debi Goenka of the Conservation Action Trust. It was Goenka’s PIL that prompted the Bombay High Court in 2005 to designate all mangroves as private forests. The court directed that any cutting of mangroves would attract stringent punishment under the Environment Protection Act. “But the court order has not made much of an impact, it has only slowed down the process,” says Goenka. “Many of our developers and civic planners still think mangroves are some wild shrubs of little value,’’ he adds.
“The cutting of mangroves continues unabated and the width of all creeks has shrunk simultaneously,” says Rishi Agarwal, secretary of the Mangrove Society of India (Mumbai chapter). “This violation is done along with a nexus of local politicians, civic officials and real estate mafia,” he says.
The Ganpat Patil Nagar slum settlement along Link Road in Dahisar is a classic example. It has now grown to be one of the largest slum pockets, after Dharavi, claiming more than 50 hectares of mangroves.
The modus operandi is simple. Kaccha roads, which go deep into the mangrove forests, are first created. The roads then encircle the mangroves and block the inter-tidal water entering the area, gradually choking the ecosystem. Over the years, shacks come up on these barren lands and are given on rent by slum lords. “In a few years’ time, a slum rehab scheme is proposed and the slum dwellers are displaced. It is anybody’s guess that the developer who constructs multi-storey towers is very much part of the elaborate gameplan,” says Harish Pandey whose IC Colony New Link Resident Forum has been fighting to stop mangrove destruction at Ganpat Patil Nagar.
Beyond Mumbai limits, the destruction is more rampant. “In Vasai and Thane creek alone, 2,000 acres have been destroyed in the past five years. Last month, the police arrested 120 people, including the brother of the mayor of the Mira –Bhayander municipal council, as 300 acres of mangroves were destroyed in Vasai creek,” says D Stalin, project coordinator, Vasai creek.
The massive destruction can be stopped if only more and more residents come forward and adopt mangroves in their neigbhourhood and file complaints with the local police, say environmentalists. As environmentalist Sumiara Abdulali puts it, “Mumbaikars should realize that protecting mangroves is like protecting your own lives.”
Saving The Anchors Mangroves are salttolerant plants of tropical & subtropical intertidal regions of the world, creating highly productive but extremely sensitive ecosystems Major Indian mangrove ecosystems are in Sunderbans of Bengal (the world’s biggest mangrove forest), followed by Andaman-Nicobar Islands & Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes), and tsunamis Their massive root system dissipates wave energy and slows down tidal water to the extent that its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving back all except fine particles during ebb
Mangroves, wetlands
15-20% mangroves, wetlands reduced: 2010-15
The Times of India, Nov 12 2015
Despite court orders, city & nearby areas lost 15-20% mangroves, wetlands in last five years
Vijay Singh
A Mumbai based NGO has estimated that the mangrove cover has depleted by 15-20% in five years by checking satellite imagery. Environmentalist D Stalin of Vanashakti told TOI, “Despite court directives, government resolutions (GRs) and a policy decision to protect mangroves and crucial wetlands, since 2010, they have slowly shrunk by 15-20% in and around Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and the Konkan coast due to debris dumping, encroachment and illegal eco-destruction.’’ Stalin said Mumbai and Thane lost a whopping 40% of its wetlands and mangroves to development projects between the early 1990s and 2005. Over 700 acres of mangroves along the Mahim creek were re claimed for building constructions, resulting in further narrowing of the Mithi river outlet. “So while there is a strict law declaring mangroves as ‘protected forests’, it is sad to see illegal activities continuing as there is hardly any patrolling or strict legal action against the culprits. We may forever lose out on mangroves if the state does not start imprisoning green destroyers,’’ he added. A forest official said, “Destruction of mangroves is illegal under the Environment Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act. A person can be fined up to Rs2,000 andor imprisoned for a year. The local municipal and police authorities are cooperating.’’ While around 4,000ha of mangroves on government land in Mumbai is notified, along with 1,470ha in Navi Mumbai, green activists feel officials have to go beyond paperwork and take affirmative action. Sandeep Bangia of the Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society (NMEPS) said, “When we saw brazen debris dumping and destruction of mangroves along Palm Beach Road, we immediately moved the Bombay high court. Now, local authorities are coordinating to safeguard the green cover. Citizens can text complaints or upload photos of mangrove destruction on the Cidco website. “Mangroves and wetland areas have reduced by 15-20% as the perpetrators have not been booked. There’s illegal sand-mining late at night between Kamothe and Kharghar. At some spots, mangroves are burnt and bunds constructed to restrict flow of inter-tidal water. The government must stop it, said Navi Mumbaibased RTI activist and member of the Harit Navi Mumbai group Anarjit Chauhan. Stalin said the most alarming destruction was by villagers in the Airoli-Rabale-Ghansoli coastal belt.
