Maharashtra to remove 1,000 illegal houses on mangrove land

Maharashtra government's Mangrove Cell will begin an eviction drive of some 1,000 houses from October allegedly encroaching notified mangrove area in Mumbai

Maharashtra government's Mangrove Cell will begin an eviction drive of some 1,000 houses from October allegedly encroaching notified mangrove area in Mumbai.

"The Cell, being an authorised body, can initiate action of demolishing the encroachment on mangrove area. We are waiting for September to get over as monsoon season is going on. The eviction is not initiated on humanitarian grounds," Chief Conservator of Forest, N Vasudevan told PTI.

"The Cell had already identified 4,000 such houses which have encroached the area. It had initiated action and these houses and constructions have been razed. We will start the next course of action from October," he said.

The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms came into effect in 1991 mandating restoration of the mangroves to pre-1991 status.

However, there have been incidents of violations and the Bombay High Court in 2005 had issued directives for avoiding further violation of Environment Protection Act, 1986, the official said.

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