Mumbai: Debris mafia now reaches Bandra's Carter Road

Illegal dumping of debris on mangroves near Carter Road at Bandra has again come to the fore with a green activist writing to commissioner division office, Konkan; DCF Mangrove Cell; Collector Mumbai Suburban; Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, Maharashtra Pollution Control Bureau and officials of revenue department. Environmentalist Stalin D has claimed that the debris is killing the mangroves in the area.

Mangrove Cell officials had allegedly also visited the spot a number of times and directed the civic corporation and collector to remove the debris, but no action has been taken yet.

Debris dumped near the patch of mangroves along Carter Road, Bandra

"Over the past one year or more we have been complaining about the debris dumped on mangroves along Carter Road. The state Mangrove Cell has visited the area many times and has written to the corporation and collector to remove the debris. However we are dismayed to see that no action has been taken by the authorities and resultantly mangroves have started to die.

Huge trees of Rhizophora mucronata, Avicennia marina, etc. are buried and deprived of water," Stalin D from NGO Vanashakti stated in his letter.

In the letter it has also been stated that a stretch of 200 metres has huge quantities of debris that has formed a road-like structure.

"We do not know or honestly do not bother whose jurisdiction it is under, the fact of the matter is that the civic body is supposed to remove the debris as per the court orders. We are attaching photos of the site for your perusal. We are also attaching letters of the forest department seeking removal of the debris," the letter read.

The NGO also claimed that repeated requests and directions to restore the area from the Mangroves Protection Committee have been ignored.
"This is a violation of orders passed by the High Court of Bombay in PIL 87 of 2006 and also the CRZ notification. Hope that the seriousness of the issue is realised and ground action moving beyond paperwork is done," Stalin D said.

200M
Approx. length of the road-like structure made with debris