In a decisive move to safeguard Mumbai’s fragile coastal ecosystem, the Maharashtra government’s Mangrove Cell has issued directives to remove illegal encroachments and restore damaged mangrove cover in two areas of Borivali west. The decision follows detailed site inspections which revealed unauthorised land reclamation and destruction of ecologically sensitive zones.
According to PTI, teams comprising officials from the Forest and Revenue Departments, the Mangrove Cell, and local administrative bodies surveyed sites in Chikuwadi and Eksar villages after receiving formal complaints of illegal activities in designated green zones.
The first inspection, conducted on 11 April, was prompted by a complaint from former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who was present during the site visit. officials identified landfilling, encroachments, and the unauthorised use of green zone land for temporary film sets and shoots, activities carried out without required clearances. The surveyed area was found to be within 50 metres of officially demarcated mangrove zones, as verified by satellite imagery and mapping data from the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC) for the years 2005 and 2018.
The inspection team confirmed violations of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and recommended immediate removal of illegal structures and restoration of the mangrove ecosystem. The findings were submitted to higher authorities for further legal action.
A second inspection, carried out last week in Eksar village, revealed similar issues on two private plots. The complaint also filed by Somaiya, alleged that nearly 30 acres of mangrove buffer land had been illicitly reclaimed by dumping debris. The Mumbai Suburban Collector’s office confirmed that one plot, enclosed by tin sheets and filled with construction debris, belonged to a private developer. Satellite data again verified the area was part of the 50-metre mangrove buffer, and that mangroves and mudflats had once existed there.
The second parcel, also falling within the protected buffer, had reportedly been filled using mud, murum, and other debris. Both sites showed significant mangrove degradation, PTI states. The latter plot, as mentioned in the government order dated 15 April, is owned by prominent Mumbai-based real estate developer Niranjan Lakhumal Hiranandani.
The Mangrove Cell has urged the state environment department and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to initiate a comprehensive investigation under the Environment (Protection) Act. Officials have also been instructed to register offences under relevant environmental laws.
(With inputs from PTI)
