Replying within three hours of environmental groups' call for stopping the construction in denotified NMSEZ (Navi Mumbai SEZ) region and acquiring the mangroves for protection, on Thursday, Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, asked the forest secretary to inquire into the issue. Various environmental groups have written to the CMO asking the state government to act now to protect the green mangroves in the NMSEZ area, or else Uran will encounter a severe ecological future, including heavy flooding in the following years. NatConnect Foundation and others have urged the CM to save hundreds of hectares of mangroves in NMSEZ by giving them to the Forest Department for protection. NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar told the media that even if one assumes that NMSEZ is a private plan, despite CIDCO holding a 26% share, the government is obliged to preserve the mangroves under section 3 (1) of the Private Forest Act. It was much clear in the High Court order to the government to protect all mangroves. Kumar told CMO that in its belated execution of Bombay High Court order dated September 17, 2018, to shift all mangroves for protection to the Forest department, the Government offices have not yet taken into consideration the sea plants under NMSEZ land. Significantly, the NMSEZ, or the new entity Navi Mumbai Integrated Industrial Area (NMIIA), do not have CRZ approvals for undertaking work in CRZ-1 areas, Kumar pointed out citing RTI replies from the environment department. Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP), told the media that NMSEZ's history in terms of environment is not exactly excellent. The revenue department has filed FIRs concerning the damage of mangroves at Pagote and wetland at Bhendkhal. Action in these matters is still unfinished as cases have been filed against unidentified NMSEZ officials. The mangrove committee had stopped the landfill at Bhendkhal and Pagote, urging NMSEZ to rebuild the destroyed parts. Yet not even a centimetre of land has been repaired, said the greens. Both Kumar and Pawar have urged the high court-appointed Mangrove Committee to take suo moto action against NMSEZ for not complying with the panel’s order. NMSEZ has damaged wetlands at Kunde and Panje. Kumar said that unless the government takes necessary measures, Uran is heading for a massive ecological disaster as no project proponent worth its name is taking any measures to preserve the environment. The area has already been observing unseasonal floods because of the blocking of the natural flow of tidal waters. Fishing zones and paddy fields are being lost, influencing lives and livelihoods. The district administration is informed of it, yet they do not notice any corrective steps. Image Source