Thane wetland vanishes under 8,000 truckloads of debris, brass

Environmental activists have evidence of the systematic destruction of the wetland through dumping of debris and brass over three years

Development comes at a cost, and a heavy one at that. The latest victims are wetlands close to the creek in Thane's Kasarvadavli area where around 8,000 truckloads of debris have been illegally dumped, alleged Thane-based environmentalist Rohit Joshi. The act will have a grave impact on the biodiversity and hamper the birding area around five to six acres of land, activists claimed.

Joshi on Wednesday filed a complaint with the High Court-appointed Wetland Committee informing them of the rampant destruction of wetlands near Ghodbunder Road in Thane West.

Illegal dumping near the Kasarvadavli wetlands is being done by locals, allege TMC officials following activists' complaint

Joshi last month received a complaint from his sources stating that indiscriminate dumping was being done on wetlands at Kasarvadavli, after which he forwarded the complaint to Adhik Patil, Tehsildar, Thane Taluka, Ovale Talathi. Tehsildar officials soon visited the spot and submitted five reports to the Thane Municipal Corporation on January 10 itself.

"Work for the construction of DP Road has been undertaken by a contractor appointed by the TMC. The dumping has made it impossible to demarcate the boundaries of the plots. Due to the size of the area, measurements have been undertaken part by part. The amount of material dumped has been ascertained to be 81,000 metric tonnes of brass. I now understand that show-cause notices have been issued by the Tehsildar to the contractor and 20-25 land owners while the TMC has not initiated any action against violators," said Joshi who has been fighting to save wetlands and green patches in Thane. He was asked by the authorities to prove that the area was a wetland saying it's neither notified nor showing in the wetland atlas.

A satellite image shows the extent of damage

Authorities ask for proof
"Unaware of the status during my visit, I had clicked photographs of water birds residing here which itself is proof of the bird habitat and rich biodiversity but it seems these aren't important indicators for authorities. Unfortunately, Google Earth also shows the last saved image of November 2018 with rampant dumping. I waited an entire month for the violators to be booked but sadly only notices have been issued. Property experts have estimated that land created here is worth R250 crore," alleged Joshi, also the convener of the Yeoor Environmental Society.

"Since the reclamation activity is being executed in an organised way, I request you to kindly probe the matter and book violators under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA) at the earliest, as this dumping continues unabashedly," Joshi's letter to the Wetland Committee read.

'Illegal dumping by locals'
"Illegal reclamation of wetlands and destruction of mangroves by dumping construction material debris in Thane have been on the rise and the Revenue Department authorities along with Thane Municipal Corporation have been turning a blind eye to it," said Stalin D of NGO Vanashakti.

TMC official Manish Joshi said that the TMC-appointed contractor Bitcom Infrastructure is carrying out the road work after taking all the necessary permissions. "However, illegal dumping is taking place on another portion of land but the TMC has nothing to do with it and as per our information, it is being done by local villagers," he said, adding that he was aware of the complaint made to the HC-appointed Wetland Committee, and "once a meeting with the committee takes place, we will take action against those villagers responsible for dumping debris," he assured.

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