Restore all destroyed mangroves, HC tells Maharashtra state

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The Bombay High Court on Monday prohibited any construction on or commercial exploitation of mangrove land across Maharashtra. It has also said that the state will have to restore to its 'original condition' all mangrove land that had already been destroyed.

In its judgment passed on a bunch of petitions the court had been hearing since 2005, the HC ruled that destruction of mangroves was in breach of the citizens' fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

A bench of Justice A S Oka and Jusstice R I Chagla said that the state was duty-bound to protect and preserve all mangrove-rich land across Maharashtra. The bench said that any ongoing construction work on mangrove land and its surrounding buffer zone must be stopped immediately, and that henceforth, no construction on such area will be permitted unless in a rare case meant for public good. Such permission, though, would be granted only through an order of the high court, the bench said.

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