Walls to curb encroachment of mangrove land in Mumbai

Mumbai: In order to curb encroachments on mangrove land, the state mangrove cell has come up with a way to restrict movement on these lands. The cell will float tenders by the first week of December and aims to first build compound walls in vulnerable areas for which it will spend nearly Rs 6 crore.

Areas more vulnerable to encroachment including Colaba, Charkop, Malwani and Trombay will be considered first for construction of compound wall. Mumbai has a total of 0.2 per cent encroachment. Three thousand and five hundred encroachments have already been demolished and around five hundred encroachments are yet to be looked into.

The state mangrove cell by the second week of December will remove about 1,000 houses for encroaching notified mangrove areas in the city. Nearly 4,000 such houses have been identified by the cell.

N. Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests (CCF), state mangrove cell, told The Asian Age, “The idea to build a compound wall is to create a clear demarcation of land so that people are restricted from encroaching upon the land again. We will also be installing closed circuit cameras on the wall for monitoring movement and will take necessary action against encroachers.”

The cell aims to finish construction of these walls in vulnerable areas in the coming year. The estimated cost of building compound walls in these areas is around Rs 5 to 6 crore. However, according to sources, the total project cost will be higher in coming years.

“Tenders for this will be floated by the first week of December after which, we aim to begin construction of walls in a month or two,” Mr Vasudevan added.