Mumbai mangrove battle gets a push

Friday brought relief for residents of New Link road in Dahisar (West) and environmentalists. The 10 year-long battle, which was spearheaded by the New Link’s resident forum, gained momentum.

Supreme Court principal judge ML Tahaliyani and forest officials inspected the CRZ along with the environmentalists, members of the forum and Jayesh Shah, the builder who is accused of exploiting the eco-sensitive zone.

The citizen activist groups have been fighting to protect the coastal regulation zone from getting encroached by the builder. The forum has accused Shah of destroying around 10-acres of the mangrove cover.

Shah had procured the power of attorney of the land from Kamathis (construction workers from Andhra Pradesh), who had been producing salt in the area. Citizens accused the builder of dumping debris in the area to destroy the green cover.

The civil court in 2009 had ordered an interim status quo to stop salt manufacturing and remove the debris. “The salt commission had stated that the land is unfit for salt commission. But the builder in the guise of salt and forest activities intends to exploit the area commercially,” said Harish Pandey, forum’s secretary.

The members brought to the judge’s notice the contrast between the original forest cover and the present condition. Flow of sea water had been blocked to kill the mangrove cover. It was observed that the green cover was chopped off manually and various portions were burnt.