Mangroves at Kharghar chopped to make prawn culture ponds, case filed

Action taken after CMO asked Forest Department to probe matter following allegation by NGOs about destruction of mangroves and subsequent prawn culture in Kharghar creek area

In swift action, Revenue Department officials have registered a case under the Environment Protection Act against unidentified persons for the destruction of mangroves and creation of prawn culture ponds in the creek area at Kharghar.

According to NGO NatConnect Foundation, Revenue Circle Officer Pandurang Kachre has, in the complaint filed at the Kharghar police station, said that a team of revenue and forest officials conducted an on-the-spot check on Saturday near Vastu Vihar housing society.

The case has been registered under Section 15 of the Maharashtra Environment Protection Act, 1986 which stipulates a five-year jail term for violators, if convicted. The NGO’s probe using Google satellite images indicated that the mangroves might have been destroyed during 2005-09 while prawn culture was a recent development. 

This comes after NatConnect Foundation and Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan complained to the chief minister about the destruction of mangroves and the illegal prawn culture ponds, following which the the Chief Minister’s Office asked the Forest Department to investigate the matter. 

NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar said the police should take the case to its logical conclusion and trace the culprits and added that the vehicles used for levelling the ground could provide vital clues.

“The investigation must also get into the details of the mangrove destruction and the officials concerned, drawing salaries from tax-payers’ money, and a close watch should be kept on the area where the illegal activities have been going on,”  Kumar said.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan, pointed out that the creek and mangroves fall under CRZ-1 and that no one should fiddle with the free flow of tidal water. “The organised, planned prawn and crab culture ponds cutting into mangroves is an act of certain vested interests and not of ordinary fishing community people,” he said. 

Kharghar-based activist Naresh Chandra Singh said the chopping of mangroves is a major threat to the housing colonies in the area. “We have been complaining to the authorities for a long time, but no action has been taken despite several inspections,” he said.

2005-09
Time when mangroves might have been chopped

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