Mumbai: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray acts on complaints of mangrove destruction by JNPT

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic

Swiftly responding to activists' allegations of destruction of mangroves on Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's (JNPT) land, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has told the state forest and environment departments to look into their concerns.

The activists have urged the CM to declare 900 hectares of mangroves under the jurisdiction of the container port as reserve forest, saying it will save the ecologically important shrubs. They submitted photos showing the alleged damage since 2019, to the CM on Sunday.

The activists said the JNPT is developing a special economic zone or SEZ and expanding its Container Terminal-IV on the "graves" of mangroves. "We are happy that the CM has responded within 10 hours and asked Forest Secretary Milind Mhaiskar and Principal Secretary for Environment Manisha Patankar Mhaiskar to look into it," said B N Kumar, director of non-profit NatConnect Foundation. JNPT's website says there are 913.6 hectares of mangroves on its land, said the activists.

"As per the thumb rule, a hectare has about 1,000 mangroves. The mangrove zones, equivalent to more than 90 Azad Maidans with about 9 lakh shrubs, is too large to be left to JNPT whose record on environment care is not exactly exemplary," said Kumar. He said government records also point to destruction of 4,500 mangroves for expansion of the Container Terminal IV. "The High Court-appointed Mangrove Protection and Conservation Committee has even imposed a fine of R1 lakh on JNPT which was paid by the port's contractor," Kumar added.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan, said mangroves are being harmed despite the environmental clearance (EC) for the project saying they should not be touched. "The reckless reclamation in Uran villages like Belpada, Dastan, Sawarkhar and Sonari has been causing unseasonal floods. The villages did not have any history of flooding, information under the RTI showed," Pawar said. Massive landfilling of mangroves is now happening at Dhutum off NH348 in Uran, he added.

The activists also questioned the veracity of the compliance reports filed by JNPT.

Dilip Koli of fishermen's body Paaramparik Machhimar Bachao Kruti Samiti said JNPT has ignored EC stipulations on not interfering with their community. He said, "Mangroves not only protect us against tidal water but also serve as breeding ground for fish and crabs."

JNPT officials could not be reached for their version.

9,00,000
Estimated no. of mangrove plants on JNPT land