Mumbai: Tree census for Gargai dam to be completed in October

The Gargai dam site at Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. Pic/Ranjeet Jadhav

The new tree census inside the Tansa sanctuary - 84 km northwest of Mumbai in Palghar district - which will be submerged under the proposed Gargai dam project, is expected to be completed in October. Depending on the number of trees, the BMC will start compensatory procedures. The dam is a key project to improve the water storage capacity of Mumbai.

The civic body has been trying for over a decade to start the long-pending Gargai dam project, which could add around 440 million litres per day (MLD) to the current supply of 3,850 MLD. The city currently needs more than 4,500 MLD of water, with this requirement expected to reach 5,000 MLD in the next few years.

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The project faced a major hurdle as it was feared that more than 4 lakh trees would be submerged and it may have a large impact on wildlife inside the sanctuary. Though the BMC has been pursuing the matter due to water shortage, it suffered a setback as the forest department suggested conducting a fresh survey of trees in the Tansa sanctuary. The earlier survey, conducted eight years ago in 2016, had estimated that around 4 lakh trees would be submerged. The BMC has changed the plan thereafter, and even the number of trees in the area might have changed, so the forest department suggested a fresh survey before starting the environmental clearance procedure.

"We supported the idea to count the trees again. Now the survey has started and we are expecting that it will be completed within two or three weeks," said an official. An official from the forest department of Thane said that the survey started two months ago and it may take another month as it gets affected due to the rainy season and the current shortage of manpower. "Though the maximum area is under the forest department, a few patches on the outskirts belong to private landholders. We haven't received permission to do a tree census in those areas. We will carry out the survey there when permission is granted," the official said.

The initial proposal for the Gargai dam covered 1,100 hectare, impacting 700 hectare and over 4 lakh trees in Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. In addition, 618 homes would have to be relocated in Palghar. "As per the latest plan, the dam will affect a total of 814 hectare of land, including 557 hectare of forest land that will be submerged, so the number of affected trees might have decreased by 40 per cent," explained a BMC official. While the BMC received permission from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, they have yet to secure clearance from the Ministry of Wildlife, which requires primary approval from the state forest department. The BMC's proposal includes compensatory afforestation in Chandrapur.