25 acres of mangroves destroyed: Activists in Borivali

Mumbai: Nearly 25 acres of mangrove and wetland stretch next to Eskay club on Link road area of Borivali west has been destroyed by dumping debris over the last couple of weeks. So much so that environmentalists have complained to the authorities that there have been deliberate attempts to destroy this green area.

Debris is being dumped over the last two weeks, and activists have alleged  that over a thousand trucks full of debris have been dumped at the site.

Harish Pandey, Mumbai-based environmentalist, has complained to the state forest department, the Bombay high court-appointed mangrove committee, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and district office.

“More than 1,000 trucks have been visiting the site and dumping debris on the wetland and mangroves. Around 25 hectares Oof land has been destroyed.

The forest department claims that it has taken action on the matter, however the violation still continues,” said Mr Pandey.

Meanwhile, the forest department has taken cognisance of the matter and written to the tehsildar’s office to take further action.

“We have submitted a report on the violation. Last week, the forest department also seized one truck on the spot while it was attempting to dump debris. Since it is private land, we have conveyed the information to the tehsildar’s office,” said Prashant Deshmukh, range forest officer, state forest department.