60% of shanties encroaching Yari Road mangroves removed?

Destruction of mangroves is illegal under the Environment Protection Act, 1986

If the Mumbai suburban district administration is to be believed, 60% of the shanties encroaching upon the mangroves at Yari Road in Versova have been removed since February. Citizens who filed the complaint regarding the encroachment, however, are not convinced. According to them, some shanties have been rebuilt within days of being evicted.

The district administration started the anti-encroachment drive on February 9. (REPRESENTATIONAL PIC)

HT on January 18, 19 and 25 reported on citizens’ complaints of recurring fires on a 10-acre mangrove patch on a private land. HT team accompanied the residents to the mangroves on January 20, and found the shanties had electricity supply, direct-to-home television services, and mobile toilets. Taking note of the reports, the district administration started the anti-encroachment drive on February 9.

“In the first phase, we cleared 65 shanties, but many of them were unoccupied. According to the report submitted by our officers, of the 75 occupied shanties, 45 have been removed,” said Deependra Singh Kushwa, Mumbai suburban collector.

“The remaining shanty owners have filed an appeal before the additional collector with a proof of residence, which is why they have not been demolished. After hearing the individual cases, the other shanties will also be removed within a month, as they have come up in violation of environment laws.”

Destruction of mangroves is illegal under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Bombay Environment Action Group, the Bombay high court banned destruction of mangrove forests across the state and construction within 50m of mangroves in 2005.

Meanwhile, Yari Road residents said they visited the site a day after the first demolition took place, and found the shanties were being rebuilt. “If the district collector visits the site, he will find that all shanties, which were supposedly destroyed, have resurfaced. Demolition is not enough. It is important to ensure they don’t return, and the mangrove patch is restored,” said Suneet Gandhi, resident and member of the Yari Road Bachao group.

“Nothing has been done to restore the site. Not just Versova, every other site sees shanties returning within four hours of demolition. These details are only on paper. Fires are now being reported from other locations along the Versova creek as well,” said Sudhanshu Dwivedi, another resident.

Debris removed from Navi Mumbai wetlands

After a rap from the Bombay high court (HC), the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and a private company started to remove debris from Talawe wetlands in Navi Mumbai last Friday.

According to Navi Mumbai resident Sunil Agarwal, who along with his wife Shruti filed a petition last month, CIDCO and Mistry Constructions Pvt Ltd removed debris across 3m of the wetland and water body located near sector 60, Seawoods, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. “There are several other areas where debris remains, but the respondents have sought to remove it only from one location, which is a small patch. We will raise the remaining issues during the next hearing,” said Agarwal.

The next hearing has been scheduled for Friday, when CIDCO and Mistry Constructions have been directed to submit photographic evidence of the debris removal.

During the last hearing, an order passed by justice AS Oka and justice Riyaz Chagla said that as per the inspection report submitted by JR Gowda, deputy conservator of forest, state mangrove cell, to the court on April 2, debris dumping was observed at the site.

The petition by the Agarwals contests a notification by the state government from October 5, 2016 that changed the land use of the wetland patch from a no-development zone to regional park based on a proposal by CIDCO to develop 17 residential buildings with 1,564 flats, 20 offices, and a golf course near Talawe wetlands.