Mangrove sharks come back to haunt Kandivali

Despite guidelines laid down by the High Court and an SMD expose, builders resume work on Charkop society that has swallowed mangrove land; Urban Secretary says action will be taken

It doesn't matter how many life-threatening floods Mumbai sees. The city's all-powerful builder lobby, helped by apathetic authorities, is strangling one of the city's most important lifelines ufffd mangroves. The latest victim is Charkop, Kandivali (W). Construction work at Sai Baba Society, which has mangroves surrounding three sides of its compound, has resumed after a brief lull. This is barely three months after work was halted post a report in SMD that had exposed how acres of mangrove land was being reclaimed in Charkop Sector 8 and 9.

January 16, 2011

Flats were being constructed with impunity in Charkop near mangroves
despite a 2004 High Court order. File Pic/Nimesh Dave

April 30, 2011

The under-construction Sai Baba Society.u00a0Workers rush to complete the
society, which is located on mangrove land. Pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi

This, despite the 2004 guidelines laid down by the High Court, which strictly forbid any construction activity within 50 metres of mangroves, regardless of the land's ownership. The court had appointed the Collector and the Deputy Commissioner of Police to protect the city's fast depleting mangroves, which play a crucial role in preventing soil erosion, floods, and seepage of saline water into ground water.

Activists are not amused. "The majority of constructions here do not display the name and contact of the developer, the CTS number (Cadastral Town Survey number, which comes under the city survey department and the Revenue Ministry) or the architect's name ufffd all mandatory requirements at the work site," rues Reji Abraham, President, United Association for Social Education and Public Welfare.

Abraham had sought answers from R-Ward officials about how plans for the construction of a four-storied society were passed and how the Building Proposal Department granted a no objection certificate for development of land covered by mangroves. He has also filed a PIL in the High Court. But the impending verdict has not deterred the builder from continuing work.

"Eventually, the building, like many others, will be sold to unsuspecting buyers. The builder lobby is conveniently flouting all rules by dumping debris, constructing bunds to destroy mangroves and getting permissions by creating dummy societies. They also build illegal holy structures on reclaimed land, after which anyone objecting to mangrove destruction is accused of causing religious disharmony," he alleges.

When contacted, TC Benjamin, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, said that based on SMD's investigations they have appointed a district-level committee comprising the Commissioner of Police, the BMC Commissioner, Senior Forest officials and NGOs, who will monitor the functioning of Maharashtra's six collectors, who were summoned on Friday, and told to be ruthless with those who violate the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) laws. He added that errant officials would be asked to explain why no action had been taken against such irregularities.