JNPT faces heat over alleged destruction of mangroves in Maharashtra

Even as environmentalists have been agitating against the alleged destruction of mangroves under Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), a Maharashtra mangroves cell has asked the country’s largest container port to hand over the sea forests under its area to the State government body.

Environmentalists have, therefore, requested the state government to keep JNPT construction activities on hold till the mangroves are transferred to the Forest Department.

JNPT in Nhava Sheva is located in the Raigad district of Konkan region of Maharashtra.

In a letter to JNPT Chairman, Virendra Tiwari, Additional Chief Conservator Of Forests – Mangrove Cell, has reminded the former of the Bombay High Court order dated September 17, 2018, that directed handing over of all mangroves to the forest department.

Since there is nothing on the record on this, the Mangrove Cell requested JNPT to immediately initiate the process of transfer of the mangroves through the Raigad District Collector.

“This is a welcome development,” said B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation, who has requested the State Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray to ensure that the mangroves under JNPT are declared as reserved forest and handed over to the Mangrove Cell for conservation without any delay. With photographic evidence, NatConnect raised alarm over the massive burial of mangroves for JNPT SEZ and other works.

As per JNPT’s own official admission on its website, there are 900 hectares of mangroves in its area, Kumar said and pointed out “it is huge and equivalent to the size of 90 Azad Maidans.” By the thumb rule of 1,000 mangroves-a-hectare, JNPT is sitting on 9,00,000 mangroves, he said.

The State Environment Department, acting on NatConnect complaint, has just asked the Raigad Collector to probe into the destruction of mangroves under JNPT. The
Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has also confirmed to NatConnect in response to an application under RTI that JNPT has not been given CRZ clearance for destroying mangroves for the port-based SEZ in Uran.

It is mandatory for JNPT to get the MCZMA and High Court clearances before doing any construction in mangrove zones, Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan, pointed out.

The High Court by an explicit order banned the killing of mangroves and the latest CRZ rules ban construction within 50 metres of the high tide zone, Pawar said and alleged that JNPT has been violating all these.

In a related development, Kharghar-based activist Naresh Chandra Singh appealed to the government to ensure that its own organisation CIDCO complied with the High Court and mangrove committee orders and hand over the mangroves in the node. Despite inspections of the destruction of mangroves in Kharghar, the authorities are not acting, Singh said.