Navi Mumbai: CM Eknath Shinde asks officials to probe Nhava mangrove destruction

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has promptly responded to environmentalistsrsquo complaints asking senior officials to look into the mangrove destruction at Nhava and also the mysterious disappearance of five paintedsnipes from Panvel lakeTaking note of the alleged killing of more than 2000 mangroves in the CIDCOcontrolled area near Rambagh at Nhava the CM asked the urban development department UDD and forest department heads to examine the issue and take action accordingly NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar who lodged the complaints with the CM said he received emails specifically marked to UDD principal secretary Bhushan Gagrani and forest secretary B Venugopal ReddyEarlier Nhava resident Vaibhav Mhatre brought the matter to the notice of the forest department which conducted an inspection on Monday and recorded evidence of the destruction According to NatConnect a team led by Sunil Mahadik forester of Gharapuri said debris is being dumped on the mangroves while the intertidal water flow is being blocked using a metal flap which is choking hundreds of mangrove plants ldquoSince the area is under CIDCO control we will request the city planner to take actionrdquo Mahadik saidMangrove destruction at RambaghRange forest officer Sudhir Manjare of the Navi Mumbai mangrove unit informed NatConnect that he had asked CIDCO to check the destruction However the CIDCO general manager forest passed the buck to the antiencroachment department A concrete mixer truck belonging to a private firm was also noticed in the area and evidence of this has been recorded forest department officials said Google maps of 2005 produced by Mhatre showed the presence of healthy mangroves on both sides of the Rambagh Udyan arch Mahadikrsquos team report said Now these plants are covered with soil and debris ldquoThis is how the ground is being expandedrdquo Mhatre pointed outAlso Read Mumbai Diva dumping ground destroying mangroves say environmentalistsNatConnect has also taken up the issue with the High Court HCappointed mangrove committee ldquoThis case once again proves our contention that CIDCO is yet to hand over several mangrove stretches to the forest department for conservationrdquo Kumar said adding that apart from the Nhave site forests behind the NRI Complex at Ulwe and Kharghar are yet to be handed over to the forest department despite a series of reminders by the HC committee ldquoThis is a clear violation of the HC order and the wetland committee must take stern action I request the mangrove committee to order the removal of the landfill and restore intertidal flow so that the mangroves can grow back on their ownrdquo Kumar said In another response to green groups the CM directed environment principal secretary Pravin Darade to look into complaints of the mysterious disappearance of five paintedsnipes form Panvel lake which green activists said is under an artificial beautification drive impacting the natural beautyldquoThe grass and weeds are being cleared and bright LED lamps are installed along with backlit animal statues at the lake and this is disturbing the flora and fauna of the 400yearold lakerdquo Environmentalist Jyoti Nadkarni said adding that the invasive type of weeds can be removed but not the entire cover under which the birds survive According to Kumar the bright lights are the ldquobirdsrsquo enemiesrdquo and they should not be installed inside the lake or outside Four paintedsnipe chicks and their father who were seen last week have suddenly disappeared avid birder and senior citizen Madhav Athavale saidEnvironmentalists fear their disappearance is due to a predatory attack Both Nadkarni and Kumar have appealed to the Panvel Municipal Corporation to suspend the entire beautification project until its impact on biodiversity is ascertained The city has a biodiversity committee which should thoroughly examine the issue they said NatConnect said it would follow up on both issues through the RTI route2000No of mangroves killed