JNPT to axe 70 hectares of mangroves for infra development

JNPT had earlier this week announced that it would hand over 815 hectares of mangroves to the forest department

Mumbai: Despite handing over the majority of mangroves on its property in the Raigad district, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) -- India’s largest container terminal -- has 70 hectares of mangrove land (equal to seven Azad Maidans in size) which are now proposed to be used for infrastructure development, including road building and port expansion.

Of these 70 hectares, about 51 hectares are proposed to be diverted for road building and widening projects (HT PHOTO)

After a meeting with state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, JNPT had earlier this week announced that it would hand over 815 hectares of mangroves to the forest department for safekeeping, pursuant to Bombay high court orders.

In the mid-2000s, JNPT had about 913 hectares (of mangroves on its property in Nhava Sheva). However, in response to an RTI request last year in June, the post authority claimed it had “no record” of mangroves on its land.

“To determine how much area is there as of date, we approached the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC) for demarcation. The results were received by us in April and revealed that there are some 884 hectares of mangroves on the premises now. Of this, we have handed over 814 hectares, and the balance 70 hectares will be diverted for development,” said a JNPT spokesperson.

Of these 70 hectares, about 51 hectares are proposed to be diverted for road building and widening projects, and 18 odd hectares are proposed to be diverted for port expansion within the JNPT special economic zone (SEZ).

“They have already submitted the proposal to us for diversion of these mangroves,” said Virendra Tiwari, APCCF, mangrove cell.

Environmentalists, however, remain opposed. “The terms of JNPT’s environment clearance granted for port expansion prohibit the reclamation of mangroves, so there can be no question of axing or diverting mangroves for that project. In fact, JNPT has said that only grasses and some shrubs are existing at the site which will be cleared. Keeping 18 hectares of mangroves for port expansion shows that JNPT does intend to remove mangroves from the site,” said BN Kumar, Navi Mumbai-based environmentalist.

Kumar also pointed out that JNPT is still to account for about 29 hectares of mangroves on its Nhava Sheva property.

“From 913 hectares in 2016, to now 884 hectares. The forest department should ask the JNPT to explain the reason for this decline, which is due to rampant wetland burials in Panje, Belpada, and Dastanphata which have picked up pace since the lockdown in March 2020. There is no move on the part of the government to take action against JNPT for these violations, or even seek an explanation as to why the number of mangroves in the area has reduced,” said Nandakumar Pawar, a Bhandup-based environmentalist who has been campaigning to protect Uran’s wetlands.

Previously, JNPT had been penalised by the HC-appointed mangrove protection and conservation committee for destroying at least 4,500 mangroves to make way for its container terminal-4 port expansion project.

Asked to clarify the discrepancy, JNPT chairman Unmesh Wagh said, “JNPT is responsible for a very small fraction of mangrove reclamation in the area. Most of the mangroves which have been lost are due to expansion of villages, and not port expansion.”