Thane wetland vanishes under 8,000 truckloads of debris, brass

Development comes at a cost and a heavy one at that The latest victims are wetlands close to the creek in Thanes Kasarvadavli area where around 8000 truckloads of debris have been illegally dumped alleged Thanebased environmentalist Rohit Joshi The act will have a grave impact on the biodiversity and hamper the birding area around five to six acres of land activists claimedJoshi on Wednesday filed a complaint with the High Courtappointed Wetland Committee informing them of the rampant destruction of wetlands near Ghodbunder Road in Thane WestIllegal dumping near the Kasarvadavli wetlands is being done by locals allege TMC officials following activists complaintJoshi last month received a complaint from his sources stating that indiscriminate dumping was being done on wetlands at Kasarvadavli after which he forwarded the complaint to Adhik Patil Tehsildar Thane Taluka Ovale Talathi Tehsildar officials soon visited the spot and submitted five reports to the Thane Municipal Corporation on January 10 itselfWork for the construction of DP Road has been undertaken by a contractor appointed by the TMCThe dumping has made it impossible to demarcate the boundaries of the plots Due to the size of the area measurements have been undertaken part by part The amount of material dumped has been ascertained to be 81000 metric tonnes of brass I now understand that showcause notices have been issued by the Tehsildar to the contractor and 2025 land owners while the TMC has not initiated any action against violators said Joshi who has been fighting to save wetlands and green patches in Thane He was asked by the authorities to prove that the area was a wetland saying its neither notified nor showing in the wetland atlasA satellite image shows the extent of damageAuthorities ask for proofUnaware of the status during my visit I had clicked photographs of water birds residing here which itself is proof of the bird habitat and rich biodiversity but it seems these arent important indicators for authorities Unfortunately Google Earth also shows the last saved image of November 2018 with rampant dumpingI waited an entire month for the violators to be booked but sadly only notices have been issued Property experts have estimated that land created here is worth R250 crore alleged Joshi also the convener of the Yeoor Environmental SocietySince the reclamation activity is being executed in anorganisedway I request you to kindly probe the matter and book violators under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act 1999 MCOCA at the earliest as this dumping continues unabashedly Joshis letter to the Wetland Committee readIllegal dumping by localsIllegal reclamation ofwetlands and destruction of mangroves by dumping construction material debris in Thane have been on the rise and the Revenue Department authorities along with Thane Municipal Corporation have been turning a blind eye to it said Stalin D of NGO VanashaktiTMC official Manish Joshi said that the TMCappointed contractor Bitcom Infrastructure is carrying out the road work after taking all the necessary permissions However illegal dumping is taking place on another portion of land but the TMC has nothing to do with it and as per our information it is being done by local villagers he said adding that he was aware of the complaint made to the HCappointed Wetland Committee and once a meeting with the committee takes place we will take action against those villagers responsible for dumping debris he assuredCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates