Activist says authorities trying to hide details, citing discrepancies in their report on encroachments near Mumbra creek and Diva
Almost three months after the Bombay High Court ordered the municipal commissioner and collector of Thane to submit a report on the encroachments near Mumbra creek and Diva, social activist and civil engineer Arif Nawaz Iraqi approached the court last week and said that the affidavit filed in the case was incomplete and that the civic authorities were trying to hide details.
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After a survey of the Mumbra and Diva areas, it was found that 11 hectares of mangroves had been destroyed. File pic
Iraqi had filed a PIL in the HC in November last year, requesting the court to look into the matter and provide necessary guidelines on how to follow the CRZ rules. Thereafter, in August this year, TMC Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal and Thane Collector Mahesh Kalyankar were asked to file an affidavit and was also ordered to come up with a plan to get back the green cover in the area.
Speaking to mid-day, Iraqi said, "On the Mumbra and Diva stretch, there are more than 50 survey numbers. However, the affidavit just mentions the details of 29 survey numbers. The authorities are trying to confuse the court by not revealing the details."
"As the authorities are neglecting the matter, I have requested the HC to appoint a court commissioner, who will conduct a survey of the area and file and affidavit," he added.
After the HC ordered a survey of the spot in August, Assistant Conservator of Forest Makarand Ghodke had visited the creek and found that mangroves had been destroyed on 11 hectares of land at two different sites in Mumbra and Diva. In his affidavit, Ghodke had also mentioned that almost 10 to 12 feet of debris was dumped at many spots.
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