Look into plaints of mangrove destruction in Uran, Maharashtra CM tells authorities

Raigad collector said FIR filed over allegations, case before court

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the urban development to look into the allegations of mangrove destruction in Uran, allegedly by different project proponents.

Navi Mumbai-based green organisations Ekvira Aai Pratishthan and NatConnect Foundation, along with the traditional fishing community forum Paaramparik Machhimar Bachao Kruti Samiti had on Wednesday written to the CM, drawing his attention to the mangrove destruction across Uran without the high court and Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearances. (HT File)

The development comes a day after environmentalists had alleged that the Raigad district administration was downplaying the destruction of mangroves and had ignored a series of spot inspections earlier.

Navi Mumbai-based green organisations Ekvira Aai Pratishthan and NatConnect Foundation, along with the traditional fishing community forum Paaramparik Machhimar Bachao Kruti Samiti had on Wednesday sent an e-mail to Thackeray, drawing his attention to the mangrove destruction across Uran without the high court and Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearances. The reply to the complaint was received on Thursday.

“We received a mail from the CMO (chief minister’s office) stating that the complaint has been referred to Dr Nitin Kareer, principal secretary, revenue, and Mahesh Pathak, principal secretary, urban development department-2,” said BN Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan, alleged that the Raigad collector had declared that there are no wetlands in Uran at the recent meeting of the high court-appointed committee.

The 400-acre Dastan phata wetland (in Uran) was allegedly turned into a dust bowl in less than six months in 2019 despite the mangrove committee halting the work amid protests by environmentalists.

The green groups have alleged that the collector appears to have ignored the fact that as many as 4,500 mangroves have been destroyed by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as tidal water flow was blocked.

The mangrove committee had also imposed a penalty of Rs1 lakh on JNPT over the issue. JNPT constructed Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s memorial on the wetland without any permissions for either digging or landfilling, as confirmed by the district administration in its response to a Right to Information (RTI) application. Yet, the collector’s latest report side-tracks the wetland issue and says there was no mangrove loss at Dastan.

The groups have also blamed the National Highway Authority of India for the alleged mangrove destruction at Uran.

The clearance by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for container terminal-4 stated that there should be no mangrove destruction and the fishing community’s movements should not be interfered with during the construction and operation of the project.

Through their letter, the environmentalists had appealed to APCCF and requested the Konkan divisional commissioner and head of the mangrove committee to not close these cases till the truth comes out.

“We’ve filed an FIR on mangrove destruction and the matter is pending before the court. As far as wetland issue is concerned, there is no notified wetland in Uran. The activists’ demand for verification of Panje wetland can be ascertained after seeking opinion of Wetlands Authority of India,” said Raigad collector Nidhi Choudhari.