While illegal structures have been growing steadily over the past two years in the mangrove cover near Dharavi, the Mangrove Cell, which is just a stone’s throw away, is yet to lift a finger, as this cover is not a ‘notified’ mangrove forest
It’s no secret that mangroves have been vanishing all over the city – after all, the BMC has done little to protect these precious green lungs. In fact, the toothless civic body isn’t even able to stop land sharks from gobbling up the mangroves at its own doorstep in Dharavi, where slums have wiped out 1,200 sq m of the forest over the past year.
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mid-day visited the spot and also took aerial pictures that clearly show how the illegal hutments are creeping in on the mangrove cover at Dharavi. Pics/Sameer Markande
The mangrove patch in Dharavi is not just a critical habitat for several species but is also a crucial protective barrier from flash floods during heavy rainfall, as the trees and the swamp act like a sponge and soak the overflow of water. However, these forests slowly began to disappear because of rampant encroachment, prompting the state to set up the Mangrove Cell in 2012.
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But land grabbers don’t seem to fear the authorities at all. In fact, over the past 5-6 years, they have gobbled up at least half an acre of mangrove trees in Dharavi alone, even though the Mangrove Cell’s office is barely 3 km away. On its part, the state is either not bothered or simply does not have the authority to do anything about this uncontrolled destruction.
Fresh encroachment
The Dharavi mangrove forest is not easily accessible by road, and the extent of encroachment can only be seen clearly from high-rises, of which there aren’t many in the area. However, the damage is visible from buildings in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), from where one of the officegoers alerted mid-day about new illegal structures that have mushroomed there recently.
“My office is right next to the Mithi river in BKC and we have an aerial view of the mangrove forest. Over the last two years, I have seen at least 50 new hutments that have cropped up there. What is shocking is that the Mangrove Cell’s office is close by, but they seem least interested in the forest,” said the source.
mid-day visited the spot and also took some aerial photographs that show how the illegal hutments are creeping in on the mangrove forest behind Peela Bangla (Yellow Bungalow).
Toothless response
Green activists allege that this encroachment has been going on for years, and if officials had taken steps in the beginning itself, they could have put an end to this menace long ago. But when mid-day spoke to officials from the cell, they said that they do not have the power to take action if the mangrove patch is not under their jurisdiction, which defeats the entire purpose of the Mangrove Cell.
“It is true that the new encroachment has come up is in an area with mangrove cover, but nothing could be done about it because we don’t have the staff or the jurisdiction,” said one staffer, requesting anonymity.
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The cell does not have the power to act against encroachment in mangrove patches that are on private land or under another authority, like the Revenue department. mid-day has published reports on many such instances where the cell has passed the buck on to the tehsildar or collector, who rarely take action (see box).
Activists have now pointed at the flaw in this arrangement of jurisdiction, and demand that the government should simply bring all mangrove patches under the jurisdiction of one agency.
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