Large tracts of mangroves are being systematically destroyed across Mumbai and nearby areas due to slow progress in handing over the coastal vegetation to the state’s forest department, two environmental groups have alleged.

NatConnect Foundation and Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan have written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the high court-appointed Mangrove Protection and Conservation Committee, seeking immediate action to protect Mumbai region’s biodiversity.