Mumbai: BJP MLA 'killed' 3.5 acres of mangroves to raise posh club

When the sprawling lavish Seven Eleven Club came up in Mira Road, it altered the area's landscape. Some might even call it grand. But to local residents and environmentalists, it is an eyesore built on the carcasses of precious mangroves. For nine years now, they have been calling for its demolition and the incarceration of its owner, Narendra Mehta, a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator who was once mayor of Mira-Bhayandar municipality.

But a near-decade has not been enough for the authorities to probe the charges levelled against the swanky club and its directors, including Narendra Mehta, who owns a majority stake of 57.57% in the club, and his brother Vinod Mehta.

The club, in Kanakia Park in Mumbai's far suburb, sits on 3.5 acres of mangrove wetlands. Its construction began in 2015 and completed in 2018. In February this year, the owners threw a lavish inauguration party. Some bit of the work, though, remains to be done.

Activists allege that the property has been raised after butchering a sizeable mangrove patch in Mira Road. They estimate the club to be worth ₹500 crores. They offer satellite images from Google Maps to prove their point (pictured). They claim the concretisation has contributed to ripping up the local ecology. (Mangrove destruction has been a long-standing issue in the area. Mira Road was marooned last monsoon, with roads and rail tracks submerged under water like never before, cutting off the distant suburb from Mumbai.)

Enraged locals and a circle officer have filed five first information reports (FIRs) between February 2010 and May 2018 (DNA has their copies) against Vinod Mehta and some others, alleging the club's construction has laid waste to mangrove forests in the region and caused harm to the environment. But even after a period of nine years, no action has been taken against the club or the two brothers.

When DNA spoke with MLA Mehta, he rubbished the charge that any mangroves were felled for the club, and said the allegations were nothing but "political vendetta" from rival Congress leaders. "There have been no mangroves on the club land since 2005. It's a false allegation that we cut mangroves to build a five-star club," Narendra Mehta said.

He said that a circle officer had registered an FIR but the police didn't find any evidence in their preliminary investigation.

The local police, though, are tight-lipped on the status of the investigation. Asked for details, senior inspector Shekhar Dombe of Mira Road police refused to divulge any information and told us to talk to his bosses. When DNA spoke with Mira-Bhayandar's deputy superintendent of police Shantaram Walvi, he said, "I don't remember this case. If you want any kind of information, then file an RTI [Right To Information plea]. We can't give you any information about this."

The then circle officer who had registered one of the FIRs against the club directors for destroying mangroves almost a year back is Laxman Pawar. He told DNA, "We registered a case against the directors of Seven Eleven on May 15, 2018. They destroyed mangroves on the wetland and constructed a club on it. With the help of Google Maps and statements from the locals, we registered an offence under sections of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. We also instructed Mira Road police to take action. But nothing has been done so far." The Environment Protection Act disallows axing of mangroves across the country.

In February this year, Vanashakti NGO had filed a petition in court seeking to tear down the club. They also demanded imprisonment for MLA Narendra Mehta and brother Vinod Mehta for killing mangroves. Stalin D, a member of the State Mangrove protection committee and director of Vanashakti, said, "The whole club is built on wetlands. They destroyed hundreds of trees. We raised this issue in the state's wetland committee in February and also filed a petition in court to demolish this club. Vinod Mehta and his MLA brother should be jailed for three years for cutting these mangroves."

Other local activists are backing Vanashakti's claims. They say they are astounded that the police haven't taken any action despite the clutch of FIRs. "We have registered five FIRs from 2010 to 2018 against Vinod Mehta. They clearly mention that the club violated sections 15 and 17 of the Environment Protection Act. After all these years, the police say they are still investigating this matter," said Krishna Gupta, a local activist. "Besides, why did Mira Road police register different FIRs for the same crime again and again?"

Pradeep Jangam, another activist, said, "MLA Mehta misused his power to construct this club and helped his brother. We tried to save mangroves to save our Mira-Bhayandar area from floods."

MLA Mehta admits he holds a majority stake in the club. But he says he did not destroy any mangroves. "I never misused my political power to construct the Seven Eleven club. nor did I destroy any mangroves. There were never any mangroves on this land since 2005," Mehta maintains.

But Stalin said the lawmaker is "lying absolutely". "There are dead mangroves lying on the club premises even now. The sub-committee appointed by the divisional commissioner , who is also the chairman of the wetland committee, had visited the site [on February 19] and confirmed the violation. The police are in collusion, because of the patronage the MLA enjoys in the government."

Let Numbers Talk 

• 3.5 acre Area of land on which the club has come up
• Rs 500 cr Worth of the club as estimated by activists
• 57.57% MLA Narendra Mehta’s stake in the clubhouse
• 5 No. of FIRs against club directors (2010-18)