TMC contractors illegally reclaim wetland

Mumbai: Despite a Bombay high court stay on the construction of the Thane waterfront, the Thane Municipal Corporation's contractors have been caught dumping debris at wetland sites affected by the project, thereby violating the court’s order.

In a fresh case, the talathi office found that the contractor had reclaimed a huge amount of land while recently dumping debris at a wetland in Mumbra, one of the four wetlands affected by the project.

The contractor was caught red-handed on February 22 by the talathi office, where officers reported that the contractor was found dumping debris from a truck at the site at around 3pm.

“The dumping is being carried out without any permission from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. The area is CRZ-1 and has mangroves in it,” read the panchnama by the talathi office.

Environmentalists have stated that this is the second case of dumping for the project since the stay order and over the last year, the TMC’s contractors have been caught several times for environmental violations.

“Despite the affidavit by the TMC in the court that it will not undergo any construction work at the wetland sites, earlier too, the same TMC contractor was found dumping debris at the Gaimukh wetland. This was after the court directed a stay on the waterfront development work in these wetlands,” said Rohit Joshi, petitioner and Thane-based activist.

A petition was moved against the reclamation of wetlands for the project earlier in July 2018, where it was mentioned that Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 1 land was being filled up to 15 metres and the work was being carried out inside the high tide line.

The project includes construction of promenades, a jogging track, playgrounds and food courts. Two major wetlands at Gaimukh, Ghodbunder road and Mumbra are going to be affected by the TMC’s waterfront development project.