Greens see red over Mithi widening plan

Environmentalists in the city are blasting the latest attempt by civic authorities to dump debris at the mouth of the Mithi River at Mahim Causeway where it meets the Arabian Sea to build a temporary roadu00a0The idea is to haul in heavy machinery at the spot to blow up rocks to widen the river restore its natural slope towards the sea and ensure better tidal movement to contain floods during monsoons Trucks seen unloading debris for laying out a provisional road at the Mithi river close to the mangroves PicShailesh Bhatia Activists however are critical of the steps involved in the Rs 1600crore Mithi river redevelopment project of the MMRDA and the BMC They are saying there is no need to employ such a severe process detrimental to ecological health when simpler solutions exist On Tuesday afternoon MiD DAY witnessed truckloads of debris being offloaded at the site a few feet away from the mangrove cover Janak Daftary convener of Maharashta Jal Biradri and Mithi Nadi Sansad who has been associated with the save Mithi Project for years said ldquoA leaky tap just requires a valve change not a bigger bucket What is happening now is a total waste of public money It is endangering the flora and fauna of the river which has evolved over hundreds of yearsrdquo Needless and costly Daftary said blasting rocks was unnecessary and would have a longlasting impact on the microbiology of the river ldquoThe people of Mumbai are being taken for a ride We have suggested some simple costeffective solutions to the government which involve finding solutions at the sourcerdquo he said Criticising administrative planning he said ldquoOn the one hand you spend crores to widen the river and on the other you allow builders to raze the mountains in Powai through which the river runs That does not allow for the natural process of water seeping into the subsoil thus increasing the chances of floodingrdquo said Daftary What about waste Magsaysay Awardwinning water conservation activist Rajendra Singh questioned what the use of widening the river was when authorities are unable to put an end to unauthorised industries like scrap dealers scrap recyclers and waste oil recyclers that add large volumes of hazardous industrial waste and sludge to the river ldquoThe Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority MMRDA and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC under the Rs 1600crore Mithi river redevelopment project have taken quite a few initiatives but few seem to have worked and the river has transformed into a gutterrdquo he said Describing the rock blasting as a lsquodamned if you do damned if you donrsquotrsquo situation Gautam Kirtane an ORF Observer Research Foundation research fellow has conceptualised a white pare to revive the Mithi It was presented to the state government recently ldquoOne does not have to be an ecologist to know that rock blasting is going to affect the delicate ecosystem of the Mithi We have failed to implement simple solutions An alternative plan to dredge the river is also harmful as it disturbs the rich sediments essential to support all life But one must take into account that the Mithi carries tonnes of human refuse and its mouth has to be widened if floods have to be avertedrdquo he said Authorities mum Dilip Kawathkar MMRDArsquos jont project director public relations directed MiD DAY to approach DU Gajbhiye the superintending engineer for Mithi project Gajbhiye said that he was not authorised to speak on the ldquosensitive subject without prior permission from the MMRDA commissionerrdquo MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana was unavailable for commentu00a0