Even as City and Industrial development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) has always denied accepting the wetland status of many areas in Navi Mumbai, a document procured through Right to Information (RTI) Act by environmentalist, has a different story to tell. The wetlands of Panje, NRI complex, TS Chanakya, Lotus Lake and Kharghar in the Flamingo City of Navi Mumbai figure are among the 564 wetlands identified and surveyed by the Maharashtra Government, confirms the RTI procured by environmentalist BN Kumar, Director of NatConnect Foundation.
“This negates the CIDCO’s stiff resistance put up by CIDCO to the environmentalists’ efforts to protect them,” Kumar says.
The Maharashtra Environment and Climate Change Ministry has assigned the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) to map and prepare comprehensive documentation of the state’s wetlands and the study is still on.
The information is key to the conservation of the key wetlands to protect which environmental forums such as Vanashakti, Sagar Shakti, NatConnect, Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society, Save Navi Mumbai Environment and Kharghar Wetland Hills have been fighting for.
“With the study report, we are sure that our key wetlands are safe since the identification, mapping and documentation are key to the conservation,” said Kumar. The next obvious step is to notify the wetlands.
Kumar sought information from the environment ministry seeking details of the survey and whether the wetlands in Uran and Nerul are covered by the NCSCM.
The State Mangrove Cell had in fact, showed its interest to conserve these wetlands under the Wildlife Protection Act but CIDCO had brushed aside the idea on the pretext that these are originally salt pans or farm lands and hence are developable land parcels, Kumar further said.
Panje wetland has been leased out to NMSEZ (now NMIIA) in which CIDCO has 26% stake. Though no construction is taking place here, the wetland often goes dry as intertidal water flow is frequently blocked by vested interests, Kumar said in his series of complaints to the Government.
As per the RTI response, the NCSCM has so far completed the survey of 564 wetlands across eight districts since March this year covering Nagpur (71), Gonda (43), Bhandara (31), Palghar (8), Raigad (18), Thane (19), Chandrapur (46) and Sindhudurg, the information obtained by NatConnect Foundation shows.
In Pune district the organisation has covered 265 wetlands so far and the process is still on.
“We are happy that the state has responded quickly and it will take the steps to protect the wetlands as mandated by the Supreme Court,” Kumar said.
Vanashakti and Sagar Shakti had moved the Bombay High Court to save Panje. NMEPS and Save Navi Mumbai Environment have been waging a prolonged legal battle to save the NRI and TS Chanakya wetlands.
