Maharashtra government 'negates' decision to set up 3 bird sanctuaries near Mumbai, RTI response shows

Maharashtra government 'negates' decision to set up 3 bird sanctuaries near Mumbai, RTI response shows

Maharashtra government 'negates' decision to set up 3 bird sanctuaries near Mumbai, RTI response shows





In a rude shock to environmentalists, the Maharashtra government has sought to negate its own decision on setting up three bird sanctuaries at Mahul-Sewri, TS Chanakya-NRI wetlands off Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai and Panje-Funde near Uran as a wildlife mitigation measure for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), a response to a query under RTI showed.

The state government had announced on December 4, 2015 that the State Wildlife Board approved the three bird sanctuaries which would help in the conservation of flamingos.

Environmentalists campaigning to save the wetlands as bird sanctuaries, were in for a rude shock when the Revenue and Forest Depart informed NGO NatConnect Foundation that “no such decision seems to have been taken.”

“The RTI response also amounts to violation of the precondition of the environment clearance, apart from breaking its own promise,” said NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar, who filed the RTI application seeking information on the status of the five-and-a-half-year-old decision.

Bombay Natural History Society’s (BNHS) report presented at the meeting pointed out that the 22-km MTHL project “received the required environmental clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to begin work, albeit with the caveat that the authorities give due thought to the conservation initiatives required to mitigate the possible adverse impacts of the bridge on flamingos, other birds and fauna, and for the habitat as a whole.”

“Our fear now is that the Panje and NRI-TS Chanakya wetlands will be gobbled up for concrete jungles,” said Nandakumar Pawar, head, Shri Ekvira Aai Prarishtan.

He pointed out that CIDCO planned a golf course on NRI-TS Chanakya wetlands, while making Panje-Funde wetland a part of the Dronagiri Development Plan, marking the area as Sectors 16-28. Paradoxically, CIDCO also earmarked Panje-Funde wetland as Holding Pond-1 as a flood mitigation measure. The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has declared at Bombay High Court that Holding Pond-1 (along with the other Pond near Karanja Jetty) fall under CRZ-1.

These real estate projects, if materialised, will spell a major ecological disaster, warned Kumar. The formation of the sanctuary will help in the overall conservation of the seascape hosting large congregations of flamingos and waders, and its declaration will also support the efforts of the Maharashtra Government to get Sewri Creek declared as a Ramsar Site (status of a wetland of international importance).

NatConnect, therefore, appealed to the government not to go back on its own decision and ensure Mumbai Biodiversity is protected.

As per the BNHS, the proposed sanctuary will consist of three parts, of which the core area (1601 ha) consists of mudflat while the buffer areas (904 ha) will primarily be mangroves.

RTI Application Form For All Departments and Organizations

Personal Details
RTI Details
Fee Submission
  • Your RTI Reference Number is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Please notedown your RTI Referance Number for future communication.
  • Pay RTI Fee Rs. xxx now to get Information soon.
  • If you are asking for photocopy of any documents through rti, then you will have to make additional payment as applicable.
  • Make payment using UPI and send screenshot and Reference number on our WhatsApp number 7838597250 .

    You can send payment directly to UPI Id infoonline@indianbk