‘Panels not lifting a finger to save wetlands, mangroves’

The Bhendkhal wetland in Uran has been buried under debris, which CIDCO was told to remove three years ago. The wetland committee does not seem to have followed-up since. Pic/NatConnect Foundation

The wetland and mangrove committees, mandated by the Bombay High Court, have been skipping meetings where they are supposed to address complaints about destruction of the swamps, environmentalists have told the government.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) has asked Bhushan Gagrani, principal secretary, the Urban Development department and Anand Limaye, additional chief secretary, Home, to look into the complaints.

The panels met only twice last year, once in January and again in June. Since then, there have been no meetings, the environmental activists have alleged. The scheduled meetings of the two committees on February 8 were cancelled without any justification, they said.

NatConnect Foundation, in its letter to the CM and the chief secretary, pointed out that the panels must meet frequently to address complaints about wetlands and to protect and conserve mangroves. Skipping scheduled sessions could be considered contempt of court, warned NatConnect director B N Kumar.

Other depts missing at meets

During the only two meetings conducted so far, important environment departments, the BMC and the MMRDA were absent, NatConnect said, quoting the minutes uploaded on the panels' websites.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan, said the HC committees had asked the district collectors to handle the local-level complaints. The district authorities seemed to have failed to address any issues, which "is evident from the continued destruction of wetlands and mangroves and the inaction against the culprits," he added.

He said the wetland committee in February 2020 asked CIDCO to remove debris from 160-acre Bhendkhal wetland in Uran and restore it. However, the wetland remains buried, Pawar alleged.

Pawar said that his complaint about "killer net" on the wetland at Sector 16, Kharghar, has been pending since January 2022. CIDCO was instructed to remove the net, as it prevented birds from catching their prey. CIDCO has not submitted its action taken report yet, he said, citing the agenda of the panel's meeting.

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‘They have power, but...'

"It is about time the committees utilised their power to protect the environment," he demanded. "The culprits divide the wetlands into small ponds and cover them with nets to prevent birds from eating fish. Sometimes, birds get caught in the nets and even die," said Kharghar-based activist Nareshchandra Singh.

Environmentalist Jyoti Nadkarni said she, too, had submitted a list of wetland and mangrove violations to the committees. However, the issues don't even figure on their agenda, she said, adding, "We have not seen any concrete action as well." The committees are fully empowered to act against those who do not comply with its orders and yet "sadly, we do not see any action," Pawar said.

2020
When CIDCO was told to restore Bhendkhal wetland in Uran