Mumbai: ‘Debris being dumped illegally inside SGNP’

Stalin D has alleged that hundreds of truckloads of debris are being dumped at the spot in Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Environmentalist Stalin D has alleged that debris is being dumped illegally at Hanuman Tekdi at Kajupada, Dahisar, in the eco-sensitive zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. On April 11, Stalin, from NGO Vanashakti, sent an email to the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Collector Mumbai Suburban, Principal Secretary of the Environment Department of Maharashtra, Municipal Commissioner, CCF Thane and Member Secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board regarding this.

"This is to lodge our complaint about the illegal debris dumping, on at Hanuman Tekdi, Kajupada, Dahisar in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in its ESZ. Hundreds of truckloads of debris are being dumped illegally in the valley. Tall trees have been buried under it and the destruction continues by the hour. We urge you to remove the debris and secure the area and prevent further destruction of forests," said the email sent by Stalin. He told mid-day that according to the Forest Department, the ESZ committee allowed the site to be used for metro debris dumping.

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"How can it be? Firstly there is no road to allow dumpers to reach this site. Secondly, the site cannot be privately owned since it is an abandoned quarry. The Forest Department told the Bombay High Court in 2000 that quarries are operating inside the park. However, when I asked under RTI, they said no details are available. The site is a forest even now and contiguous with SGNP. There is nothing between the claimed boundary (of SGNP) and this site," Stalin said.

He also alleged that huge trees have been buried and almost 60-70 ft of debris is on the site. "If this ESZ cannot be protected, if the forest department cannot remove the encroachments inside the national park, it is time to close down that division and let encroachers take over the forests. The government machinery has become toothless in protecting the forests of the state. Citizens' efforts to conserve nature are being defeated by the builder-slum-politician nexus," he added.