Mumbai: The Bombay High Court recently directed the State Forest Department and the Thane Municipal Corporation to ensure boundaries demarcated for mangroves remain intact and there is constant flow of water to keep them from drying up.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice G.S. Kulkarni was hearing PILs on destruction of mangroves by unauthorised constructions.After several orders, the court was informed that substantial restoration of mangroves had been ensured by removal of illegal constructions. Obstructions and rerouting of water channels have been removed as well.
The court said, “On every occasion of such destruction of mangroves, there cannot be a marathon exercise of litigation. If only the public is alerted or cautioned by the concerned department that if any one makes an attempt to destroy the mangroves there is bound to be serious consequences like present action. This requires creations of public awareness as well as alertness by keeping vigil by the concerned department. If no constant vigil is kept, the possibility of recurrence cannot be ruled out.”
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The court directed the Forest Department and the TMC to keep a vigil and see that no other activities other than maintenance of mangroves takes place. “It is needless to state that there cannot be any obstruction to the water flow or water channel to those mangroves so that they would automatically dry up if no water is allowed to flow,” the court said.
In the last order, the court had said direction was given to restore mangroves destroyed by cultivation and unauthorised constructions.