5,000 Uran mangroves defy destruction, spring back to life

In a case of resurrection from the ruins, over 5,000-odd mangroves destroyed by the de-notified NMSEZ (Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone) at Pagote in Uran have sprung back to life with full vigour. This despite the authorities failing to implement the Bombay High Court-appointed committee directive to restore the killed sea plants, environmentalists said.

“It was a pleasant surprise to see the lush green sea plants flourishing at Pagote which looked like a mangrove graveyard only 30 months ago,” said NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar, who has been campaigning to save Uran mangroves.

This is one example of nature healing itself, left to itself without any human intervention, Kumar said but regretted that mangroves and wetlands all across Uran are continued to be the target of destruction by infrastructure projects.

Mangroves in Uran, Kharghar, Ulwe, and other parts of Navi Mumbai have been literally languishing as they are yet to be handed over to the forest department for conservation as per the Bombay High Court order of September 2018.

At the instance of NatConnect, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray recently asked the Forest and Environment departments to check the status of NMSEZ mangroves.

As per information obtained from the Union Commerce Ministry, Kumar said, NMSEZ has been de-notified way back in February 2019, and yet it continues to function under the same banner.

The then Konkan Commissioner called for an on-the-spot inquiry following which the revenue authorities filed an FIR for the destruction of mangroves at Pagote against unidentified NMSEZ officials under the Environment Protection Act, said Nandakumar Pawar, head of NGO Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan.

In fact, the Forest Department too confirmed the mangrove destruction and wrote to Uran Tahsildar that NMSEZ should be asked to plant over 5,000 mangroves, Kumar said.

Kumar and Pawar have requested the all-powerful High Court-appointed committee to initiate criminal proceedings against NMSEZ and government officials for their lack of accountability.