Why is debris being dumped on wetlands, high court asks govt

The state has been asked to step into the controversy over the Kanjurmarg dumping ground.

The state has been asked to step into the controversy over the Kanjurmarg dumping ground.

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The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday directed the state chief secretary to file an affidavit within a month explaining why debris is being dumped on wetlands and why the flow of seawater to the mangroves has been obstructed.

The division bench of justice DD Sinha and justice VK Tahilramani was hearing a civil application filed on a public interest litigation by civic activist Jagdish Gandhi in 2005.

Providing photographic evidence of the dumping on wetlands at the city’s newest dumping ground, Gandhi sought an explanation from the state government about its wetland protection policy. Gandhi also pointed out that the flow of seawater had been blocked, threatening the survival of the wetland habitat and surrounding mangroves.

The court also allowed Gandhi’s plea for a joint inspection of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, with authorities from the civic body and the state government to be carried out at the earliest.

“Since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was not present at the hearing, we will have to consult them on the issue of dumping in the wetlands. After that we will file the affidavit as asked by the court,” said Vasant Gokhale, government pleader.

The Kanjurmarg dumping ground, the most recent in the city, has been mired in controversy since it became operational in March.

Environmentalists have maintained in the past that the dumping ground will be a slow killer of mangroves, wetlands and habitat of migratory birds in the area. Residents, too, have complained about the stench emanating from the ground.

India is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention, 1971, for the conservation and wise use of wetlands that include in its ambit a wide variety of habitats such as rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves and numerous man-made wetlands such as ponds and salt pans as well.