“The Navy should not be here at all,” says Shanti Koli. This feeling of discontent against the Navy is widespread among the residents of Marve and Malvani. The reason: land-filling around INS Hamla .
In January, the Navy carried out land-filling at two locations: the first on a vast stretch of land adjoining the creek and the other is adjacent to a natural pond. Both spots are on Navy land, with the latter being in the vicinity of INS Hamla ’ s Kendriya Vidhyalaya.
Mangroves or security
The stretch of mangroves adjoining the creek is protected under several laws and norms, including a 2005 ruling of the Bombay High Court. The Navy has claimed that its activity has not been in contravention of any law and that no mangroves were destroyed. “The Navy has not carried out any activity, which is in contravention of any Coastal Regulation Zone or environment norms,” says Commander Sridhar Warrier, chief PRO of the Southern Naval Command. INS Hamla comes under the Southern Naval Command at Kochi.
The local fishing community, however, has a different view. “There were green mangroves till the road. For four months they systematically destroyed them and filled it up with mud,” says Lakshmi Koli.
Dismissing the claim, Commander Warrier says, “This was a bonafide military activity on military land in the interest of security post the Pathankot Airforce Base attack.” In the aftermath of the attack on January 2, the government ordered a security audit of all critical defence installations.
Sources in the Navy say the land-filling was a result of the new set of norms put in place. The navy awarded a contract for the project to Ankita Constructions on January 12. A letter from the Navy confirming the contract states that the work could commence only after the contractor obtained permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other local authorities.
The Navy wrote two letters to the BMC asking about these permissions. “The BMC has told us verbally that there is no approval needed for work inside the cantonment area,” says Commander Warrier. The work started in full swing soon after.
The Collector, acting upon the complaints of the locals, conducted an investigation on January 25 led by Navnant Jhare, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) for the Western Suburbs. The investigation found irregularities on the part of the contractor, and filed an FIR in the Malvani police station against the company and its proprietor, Anand Bechan Choursia, who was taken into custody. “The company had not furnished any documents or permissions to the Collector’s office,” Mr. Jhare said. “They were also found to have been dumping within 50 metres of the mangroves. Hence we filed an FIR. Further investigations will be conducted by the police.”
In his report, dated January 27, the SDO had said that the activity was conducted on Naval land and would need clearances from the environment ministry. It also stated that the activity was in contravention of the 2005 ruling of the Bombay High Court.
Despite the investigation and the SDO report, Mr Choursia got bail, and the work resumed soon after. Locals say nearly 400 to 500 dumpers would daily dump debris at the site day and night, until the Collector wrote another letter to the Navy on April 20. “The Collector’s letter is being suitably responded to. However, its contents cannot be divulged because it is sub judice,” says Commander Warrier. The fallout of the dumping has been severe. Water now floods this area during high tide. “We have used that area for generations now,” Manjula Koli says. She, like others in the area, used to use the dry land adjacent to the mangroves to dry fish. “Where else can we go to do this?” asks Deepika Koli, another resident.
It’s been over four days since they have taken their boats out to sea. “What’s the point of catching fish, if we can’t dry them? We are in the fish-drying business,” says Jamna Koli. Business has been severely hit and many don’t know for how long they can wait. Moreover, the locals say the impact of the land-filling might be more severe during rain. “This land acts as a catchment area when there’s heavy rain and the tide is high,” says Nitu Koli.
It’s not only the Koli village in Malvani but also the residents of Patelwadi and Shankarwadi in Marve, who would be affected during rain. “Show me where the water will flow?” says Darryl Gomes. Mr Gomes has been active in garnering support in Patelwadi and is currently conducting a signature campaign. He has managed to procure about 250 signatures till now. “These are low-lying areas and the water has no way to pass. In the absence of a route, the water will flood these areas during heavy rain,” he says. There are around 12,000 residents in Patelwadi and Shankarwadi. “The other land-filling near Kendriya Vidhyalaya will only worsen the water-logging situation,” he says.
Around the time the activity along the creek was being carried out, land-filling was under way at a water body near the Kendriya Vidhyalaya. The Navy says land-filling was in response to a complaint by the principal of the school, that the water body was a mosquito-breeding site. “Both our internal probe and the findings of the BMC’s tests have shown that the water body was a mosquito-breeding site,” says Commander Warrier. The school principal was not available for comment.
“This pond has been there since the time of my grandfather,” says Brig (Retd) Flavian J. D’Lima. Brig D’Lima, now 84, lives on a plot beside the water body that his family has owned for many generations. He and his son have been trying to remove the debris that has been dumped there. “We appointed a private firm and conducted our own tests, which revealed that there were no mosquito larvae and that the pond was not a mosquito-breeding site,” says Pradeep D’Lima, Brig D’Lima’s son. The brigadier has also written letters to the Commanding Officer of INS Hamla . Environment laws make it illegal to fill up natural water bodies such as ponds and lakes. But the Navy says it is a man-made tank and not a natural water body. “This tank was built by the British to store water,” says Commander Warrier. “Since we have overhead tanks, we no longer need such tanks, especially when it is posing a health hazard.”
Both Brig D’Lima and the Collector, in their letters to the Navy, have called the water body a lake. Moreover, the Navy in its letters to Brig D’Lima never raised this point. “There used to be hundreds of ducks at this lake. Now there are none,” says Brig D’Lima as he watches the lake and the dump from his backyard. When asked if the Navy had explored any other way to deal with the mosquito breeding, Commander Warrier said, “The tank is in naval land. What or how the Navy does with it is not anyone’s call.” At Malvani village there is anger building up. The Navy says that it has taken steps to address their concerns. But, many feel the damage is already done. “We have had to build small dams to prevent water from flooding in during high tide, but this is not possible all the time,” says Shanti Koli.
