CIDCO misses out several species in biodiversity assessment of Kharghar Hill Plateau

According to experts, the project’s environment impact assessment (EIA) -- accessed by HT this week -- missed out species that are also threatened globally, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and those protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972)

Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has failed to account for the presence of several species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians that live in and around the Kharghar Hill Plateau development project region, in Navi Mumbai.

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According to experts, the project’s environment impact assessment (EIA) -- accessed by HT this week -- missed out species that are also threatened globally, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and those protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

Hindustan Times was the first to report on CIDCO’s plans to develop a 106-hectare residential-cum-commercial township on the Kharghar Plateau.

A few such animals, whose presence in the region has been documented earlier but left out of CIDCO’s assessment, include porcupines, small Indian civets, black-naped hares, bonnet macaques, langurs, the Malabar lark, Bonneli’s eagle, spectacled cobras, checkered keelback, monitor lizards, and various species of frogs, butterflies, insects and moths. The Indian spotted eagle, golden spotted eagle, and Amur falcon have also been seen amongst these hills in recent years, according to eBird, an online repository of bird sightings maintained by scientists and hobbyists.

According to CIDCO’s EIA report, a copy of which has been seen by Hindustan Times, only 31 species of fauna -- including 22 birds, 5 butterflies, 1 mammal and 1 reptile -- were seen in the project area between October to December 2022.

“This is a major undercount. Winter months are a very productive time for the plateau, in terms of the various species you will see, or whose presence can be determined indirectly using animal droppings, hairs, fur, spines, or pugmarks. The only species of mammal recorded in CIDCO’s EIA report is the common squirrel. It is highly suspect,” said Nikhil Bhopale, managing trustee of the Green Works Trust, who has previously surveyed the area for the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for a project titled ‘Survey of Biodiversity of Kharghar Hills & CBD Belapur’.

Interestingly, the BNHS survey was commissioned in 2007 at the behest of CIDCO itself, for establishing the now-abandoned Navi Mumbai Nature Park on the Kharghar Plateau. In sharp contrast to CIDCO’s current assessment, BNHS found that the region is home to at least 12 species of mammals, 179 species of birds, 9 species of amphibians, 28 species of reptiles and 295 species of insects.

Moreover, the ‘Citizen’s Report on Biodiversity of Kharghar, Navi Mumbai’, maintained and regularly updated by the Kharghar Wetlands and Hills citizens’ group, has so far recorded at least 89 species of native and migratory birds in Kharghar Hills, 33 species of butterflies, and at least 9 types of moths, in addition to other fauna. The sheer numbers point to a substantial concentration of biodiversity in the heart of the rapidly urbanising regions of Navi Mumbai and Panvel.

Located at a height of 160-260 metres above mean sea level, the Kharghar Hill Plateau is an expansive rocky outcrop that feeds several of the scenic waterfalls and waterbodies in and around Navi Mumbai, including the picturesque Pandavkada Falls, the Owe Dam and a smaller check dam near Artists’ Village.

The Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC), which is currently being upgraded by CIDCO from a nine-hole to an international standard 18-hole golf course, is also in close proximity to the plateau area.

“CIDCO’s report does not begin to scratch the surface of biodiversity that is found on the plateau. There are no clear conservation measures proposed in the document, nor is there any assessment of how such a large project will impact the flow of water in the plains. There is no mention of how many trees will be cut. No environmental clearance can rely on such a sketchy assessment. CIDCO claims they have referred to secondary data as they could not observe much biodiversity in the field. This is questionable, but what is interesting is that CIDCO seems to have forgotten about the older BNHS report, which they themselves commissioned,” said Naresh Chandra Singh, co-founder, Kharghar Wetlands and Hills group.

Being built at a cost of ₹18,900 crore, the Kharghar Hill Plateau project is expected to cater to a residential population of 11,985 people, and a commercial population of around 6,450 people. The amenities planned include residential buildings and bungalows, hotels and resorts and commercial plots for sale. Two adivasi villages, Fanaspada and Chaphewadi, also exist within the project area.