Mumbai: Aditya Thackeray orders to stop construction at Panje wetland

A security cabin set up at the Wetland property

Shocked at the violation of rules at Panje wetland in Uran, Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray has ordered to stop all construction at site from immediate effect. In a fresh letter to the Environment Minister, with a copy to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, green activists have shared details of the ten security cabins that have come up at Panje wetland. This has been done against Thackeray's order of March 3, where he had directed the officials to ensure that no fresh construction must take place at Panje. The activists have also requested the Mangrove Committee-appointed by the High Court-to launch contempt proceedings against the Collector for her failure to comply with the committee directives.

A private property board put up at the site

The environmentalists' request for declaring Panje as a bird sanctuary has been pending with the Environment Ministry for a while now. BN Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation said, "The State Mangrove Foundation executive director Virendra Tiwari has asked for transferring Panje and other wetlands of Belpada and Bhendkhal to be conserved and maintained. We appreciate Thackeray's stand on protecting the bio-diversity of Mumbai region, and would like to point out the glaring violations in broad daylight. This is a very serious lapse on part of the Raigad District collector and CIDCO."

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan, too, expressed concern over the violation. During his visit on Thursday, he found strict security around the area, covered by a massive, illegal compound wall and a board proclaiming the place as private property. "How can a wetland be somebody's private property?" he asked, adding that the security guards were preventing bird watchers and local fishing community from entering the wetland. "It seems multinationals are in a mighty haste to gobble up Panje wetland in particular. They do not care for any laws," he alleged.

Kumar added, "CIDCO has already covered the Panje wetland as Sector 16-28 in its Dronagiri DP, without any sanction from MCZMA as intimated to us in response to our RTI application. The MCZMA has not given any permission for the wall or the sluice gates erected by CIDCO. Going by MCZMA affidavit in Bombay High Court itself, Panje wetland falls under CRZ-1 along with Dronagiri Holding Pond-2."

Dilip Koli of Paramparik Machimar Bachao Kruti Samiti says, "CIDCO itself has declared Panje wetland as Dronagiri Holding Pond-1 yet they leased out most of it to a multinational . The wetland is rendered dry off-and-on by vested interests in order to show that it is not a wetland. The entire process of so-called transfer of Panje [and other wetlands such as Pagote and Bhedkhal] to NMSEZ by CIDCO is patently illegal. The district administration itself has filed FIRs against NMSEZ for the landfill that destroyed mangroves and the wetland at Pagote and Bhendkhal."

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