Flood protection measures within 50m of mangroves at Army club in Colaba: Officials

Officials from the district administration and state mangrove cell on Thursday said the mangrove trees at the Indian Army’s Sagarmatha Club in Colaba may not have

Officials from the district administration and state mangrove cell on Thursday said the mangrove trees at the Indian Army’s Sagarmatha Club in Colaba may not have been harmed. However, the officials revealed that the flood-protection measures have been carried out within 50 metres from the mangrove trees, which is a violation of the law.

HT Image

“Prima facie, mangrove trees have not been destroyed at the site. But boulders for flood protection have been placed at less than 50m from mangroves, which is a violation of a Bombay high court order,” said city collector Shivaji Jondhale.

On Thursday, the officials were accompanied by the police and members of an environment group, Conservation Action Trust (CAT), who are the complainants in the case, to Sagarmatha Club in Colaba.

Jondhale said officials filed a punchnama after the site visit, in which the statements of Army, CAT and the mangrove cell have been recorded. The future course of action will be decided based on the final report submitted by the officials. “The flood-protection activities were carried without the permission of the collector, the coastal authority and other agencies. The final report is yet to reach my office. We will assess the statements and plan further action,” Jondhale said.

An Army official from Sagarmatha Club, who did not wished to be named, said no ecologically-sensitive areas were harmed. “Authorities who visited the club realised that our intention is to only protect the government property. We assured them that we can plant more mangroves at this site to avoid any possibilities of flooding in the future,” the officer said.

CAT submitted the satellite images, showing how the southern end of the club zone was allegedly reclaimed over the years. “Construction has been carried out between the low and high tide lines on the district collector’s property. The forest department failed to install signboards identifying that the mangroves are on protected forests,” said Debi Goenka, executive trustee, CAT.

An Army official from Sagarmatha Club, requesting anonymity, reiterated their stand that boulders had been placed to avoid flooding at the club; no ecologically sensitive areas were harmed, and over 2,500 mangrove saplings have been planted. “Our intention is to only protect government property. Authorities that visited the club on Thursday understood this. We parted on the assurance that collectively we can plant more mangroves at this site to avoid future flooding possibilities,” the officer said.