Mumbai mangroves: Documentary puts spotlight on fight to save city's green barriers

A still from the documentary features the protests against mangrove felling in Charkop. PICS COURTESY/SAVE MUMBAI’S MANGROVES

I have met Mumbaikars who genuinely believed that mangroves meant mango groves," reveals director Aruna Jade. There's some humour in it, but it fizzles out when you learn that 45,000 mangrove trees were recently approved to be felled for the upcoming Rs 20,000-crore Versova-Bhayandar Coastal Road Project. A group of experts and citizens like Jade, under Save Mumbai's Mangroves (SMM), have been fighting for these natural flood barriers from the front.

Jade's documentary The Last of Mumbai's Mangroves features experts such as architects Hussain Indorewala and Alan Abraham, veteran environmentalists Debi Goenka and Stalin Dayanand, and consultant Bansari Kothari, among many Mumbaikars who decipher the development dilemma for the common man.

Mangroves in Versova. File pic

Excerpts from the interview

What inspired you to document the ongoing efforts to save the city's mangroves?
I live near Malad's Mindspace, which means that the proposed Coastal Road route will cut through my neighbourhood. The cutting of Malad's mangroves is set to exacerbate the erratic monsoons, record summer temperatures, and waterlogging.

Nearly 3000 members of SMM have been making time from their busy schedules to visit mangrove sites, attend meetings with authorities, and protest on the streets. Whether or not the project affects you directly - which it definitely will, eventually - the effort needs more eyes on it.

Aruna Jade

What do you hope this documentary sparks in the common Mumbaikar?
We tried our best not to preach, but present facts objectively. Concepts like Cost Benefit Analysis, Transit Oriented Development, Environmental Impact Assessment may sound like jargon. Experts in the documentary put it in simple words, and it immediately reveals the real impact the project will have on the quality of life in the city. The viewer is free to choose a side.

Were there any segments in the documentary that were eye-openers for you?
For instance, Hussain Indorewala aptly points out the amendments to the CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone): a well-meaning framework that has been diluted over the years. Debi Goenka tells us about TOD (Transit Oriented Development) FSI (Floor Space Index), a regulation that benefits builders within 500 meters of Metro projects. It helps put into perspective how the city is being redesigned for a few, at the cost of the many.

You're locking horns with people in high places by making the documentary public...
Absolutely. There is a perpetual sense of apprehension and hesitance when we take the film to public screenings. My mother worries about my safety, and is not too happy about this pursuit. It is some reassurance that we have a strong legal team behind us, and most importantly, a community that doesn't think twice before speaking truth to power.

Log on to: Save Mumbai Mangroves on YouTube (to watch the documentary)