On central govt website, Navi Mumbai playground is a wetland

An environmentalist said five wetlands of Navi Mumbai form part of the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary. However, not a single wetland from Navi Mumbai has been listed on the official website. Representation pic

Activists have come down heavily on the central government for its half-hearted attempt at saving the country's wetlands, crucial water bodies. The Union environment ministry's official website has so far listed less than 0.02 per cent of over 7.57 lakh wetlands mentioned on its own atlas and on top of that, a playground and a portion of the sea have been listed as wetlands.

The website

On the official website, Wetlands of India Portal (https://indianwetlands.in/#), the government has officially listed merely 1,243 wetlands, including 75 as Ramsar sites, 115 as significant wetlands and 1,053 as other wetlands. A Ramsar site is a wetland of international importance. B N Kumar, director of NGO NatConnect Foundation, pointed out that a playground at Sanpada in Navi Mumbai has been listed on the site under ‘other wetlands', and a part of the Arabian Sea off Sewri is shown as a ‘significant wetland'. A lake in Bandra West figures as a Ramsar site along with the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS). Ironically, not a single wetland from Navi Mumbai has been listed on the official website, he pointed out. Kumar said five wetlands of Navi Mumbai, along with the one at Bhandup, form part of the TCFS.

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RTI revelations

Kumar had filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking a list of identified and notified wetlands across India and the ministry directed him to the Wetlands of India Portal. Kumar wrote back to the ministry, pointing out the absence of any clarity and seeking details. In the absence of any clarity on the status of the wetlands and the incomprehensible National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) Atlas, the all-important water bodies are being destroyed under the guise of development with no regulatory body bothering about it, he said.

"The tragedy is that the government portal does not define the significant and other wetlands, nor does it say anything more about the wetland atlas," Kumar said. Kumar said the atlas cannot be comprehended by the common man as it does not mention any particular location of the wetland. "This is exactly why we called for a proper identification, notification and listing of the wetlands," Kumar said.

‘Rejecting existence'

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Sagarshakti, the marine wing of NGO Vanashakti, pointed out that the various project proponents such as CIDCO and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) have been rejecting the existence of wetlands, by taking shelter under the fact that the government hasn't notified them.

In fact, a suggestion from the Mangrove Cell to conserve the wetlands at Belpada, Bhendkhal, Panje in Uran and NRI and TS Chanakya wetlands in Nerul was turned down by CIDCO claiming that these are all developable land parcels, Pawar said.

Advocate Pradeep Patole said it is sad that the identified wetlands of Navi Mumbai region do not figure anywhere in the official map. "This obviously defeats all our efforts to save the environment," he said.

The official website says coastal wetlands, like mangroves, coral reefs, mudflats and estuaries, act as physical barriers limiting damaging effects of storm and tidal surges, Pawar pointed out, adding that in reality this proclamation has gone for a toss as no serious efforts are being made to protect the ecosystem.

Appeal to minister

The activists appreciated Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav's a candid statement that "wetlands often get neglected as public goods". At the northeast regional wetlands meet, Yadav said the entire society needs to come together to protect these ecosystems. In this context, NatConnect has written an email to Yadav requesting for an official list of wetlands specifying their exact locations so that the society can protect them.