Taking serious note of the mid-day report that highlighted the rampant dumping of debris allegedly in the mangroves and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas of Versova, the forest secretary has instructed the Mangrove Cell to investigate. The head of the Mangrove Cell has directed the deputy conservator of forest to verify the claims and take action. Forest Secretary B Venugopal Reddy informed mid-day via text that he would address the issue immediately.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) and head of Mangrove Cell, S V Ramarao said, “I have directed the concerned deputy conservator of forest (DCF) to visit the location and get the information published in the newspaper verified and submit a report of the actions that will be taken.”
Pictures recently clicked by a nature lover shed light on the rampant discarding of construction material in an area with a radius of 300 metres in the ecologically rich spot. Recently, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officer who was cracking down on illegal buildings in the village was allegedly transferred.
When this reporter visited the area near Shiv Galli recently, he observed that a board had been put up near the mangrove patch by the Mangrove Cell of the Maharashtra forest department and it mentions that the area is a notified reserved forest and that grazing, hunting, tree cutting, farming, encroachment and throwing garbage or dumping are prohibited.
However, heaps of debris could be seen in and around the area where the board was set up. Also, around 300–400 metres from the board, we noticed that storage units for construction material had come up close to CRZ areas.
