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Mumbai: CAT Report Exposes Coastal Zone Management Failures
ECONOMY & POLICY

Mumbai: CAT Report Exposes Coastal Zone Management Failures

The Conservation Action Trust (CAT), a non-profit organization focused on environmental protection, released a report exposing the failure to implement the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), which is mandatory under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification. The report highlighted the inaccuracies in the CZMP, which have indirectly facilitated the encroachment of mangrove land and coastal areas in Mumbai and the Metropolitan Region, including locations such as Dahisar, Goregaon, Charkop, Mahul, Mankhurd, Bandra, and Nerul.

The report, which was released by retired Bombay High Court justice Gautam Patel, along with CAT trustee Debi Goenka and other experts, noted that although the CRZ notification came into effect on February 19, 1991, accurate CZMPs have still not been created. The CZMP is intended to protect coastal habitats and maintain ecological balance. The report criticized the delay in implementing the CZMP, stating that it, along with pressures from builders, infrastructure projects, industries, and urbanization, has undermined the intent of the CRZ notification.

The report provided examples of encroachments on mangroves and inaccuracies in the CZMP. It pointed out that in Uttan, Dahisar, 700 hectares of land were mistakenly designated as an intertidal zone, suggesting this may have been done deliberately to support plans for converting the area into a recreational and tourism development zone, as proposed in the Draft DP 2034 by the MMRDA.

Regarding Pahadi, Goregaon, the report highlighted that about 500 acres of dense mangroves had been destroyed after 1996, even though the area had been designated as "Deemed Forests" in 1997. It was also noted that the presence of mangroves was concealed when seeking environmental clearances. While the Ministry of Environment and Forests had suspended the environmental clearance in 2013, the report revealed that, in 2018, parts of the land were offered for a National Judicial Academy and for the relocation of the Bombay High Court, with further plans to build the Maharashtra National Law University on part of the land, including the proposed reclamation of mangrove areas. The report also mentioned the Bandra Kurla Complex, stating that Google Earth images from the year 2000 showed that reclamation had already started, except for the southwest part. However, by 2020, images indicated that the entire area had been reclaimed, including the creek, which had been a prime area for flooding in BKC. Environmentalist Debi Goenka commented that the CRZ Notification mandates that construction and infrastructure projects in coastal areas be approved or rejected based on CZMPs. However, the government had prepared three inaccurate and incomplete CZMPs over the past 33 years, which had been exploited by state municipalities, bureaucracies, and planning agencies. Goenka argued that while these errors might appear to be simple mapping mistakes to the general public, they have serious consequences for coastal cities like Mumbai.

The Conservation Action Trust (CAT), a non-profit organization focused on environmental protection, released a report exposing the failure to implement the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), which is mandatory under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification. The report highlighted the inaccuracies in the CZMP, which have indirectly facilitated the encroachment of mangrove land and coastal areas in Mumbai and the Metropolitan Region, including locations such as Dahisar, Goregaon, Charkop, Mahul, Mankhurd, Bandra, and Nerul. The report, which was released by retired Bombay High Court justice Gautam Patel, along with CAT trustee Debi Goenka and other experts, noted that although the CRZ notification came into effect on February 19, 1991, accurate CZMPs have still not been created. The CZMP is intended to protect coastal habitats and maintain ecological balance. The report criticized the delay in implementing the CZMP, stating that it, along with pressures from builders, infrastructure projects, industries, and urbanization, has undermined the intent of the CRZ notification. The report provided examples of encroachments on mangroves and inaccuracies in the CZMP. It pointed out that in Uttan, Dahisar, 700 hectares of land were mistakenly designated as an intertidal zone, suggesting this may have been done deliberately to support plans for converting the area into a recreational and tourism development zone, as proposed in the Draft DP 2034 by the MMRDA. Regarding Pahadi, Goregaon, the report highlighted that about 500 acres of dense mangroves had been destroyed after 1996, even though the area had been designated as Deemed Forests in 1997. It was also noted that the presence of mangroves was concealed when seeking environmental clearances. While the Ministry of Environment and Forests had suspended the environmental clearance in 2013, the report revealed that, in 2018, parts of the land were offered for a National Judicial Academy and for the relocation of the Bombay High Court, with further plans to build the Maharashtra National Law University on part of the land, including the proposed reclamation of mangrove areas. The report also mentioned the Bandra Kurla Complex, stating that Google Earth images from the year 2000 showed that reclamation had already started, except for the southwest part. However, by 2020, images indicated that the entire area had been reclaimed, including the creek, which had been a prime area for flooding in BKC. Environmentalist Debi Goenka commented that the CRZ Notification mandates that construction and infrastructure projects in coastal areas be approved or rejected based on CZMPs. However, the government had prepared three inaccurate and incomplete CZMPs over the past 33 years, which had been exploited by state municipalities, bureaucracies, and planning agencies. Goenka argued that while these errors might appear to be simple mapping mistakes to the general public, they have serious consequences for coastal cities like Mumbai.

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