Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jun 8: Residents of Dahisar West have raised serious concerns over the ongoing destruction of mangroves in the area, urging political leaders in Mumbai to take immediate action. The protest follows growing environmental degradation, with citizens demanding accountability from political parties ahead of key civic decisions.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court recently upheld the Maharashtra government’s move to clear illegal settlements on protected mangrove land in another part of Mumbai, setting a strong precedent. A division bench comprising Justice Girish S Kulkarni and Justice Advait Sethna ruled that forest areas are explicitly excluded from the protections under the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act.

The case involved four residents from Laxminagar in Charkop, Kandivali, who had filed a petition after nearly 500 huts — including theirs — were demolished in April 2021. The petitioners argued they had been residing there since 1980 and were eligible for rehabilitation as per government resolutions protecting pre-2000 and pre-2011 slum dwellers.

However, government counsel Uma Palsuledesai asserted that the land falls under Survey No. 39 — a 57-hectare reserved forest and part of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). Under Section 3Z-6 of the Slum Act, forest and CRZ lands are excluded from slum rehabilitation benefits.

The court sided with the government, stating that the petitioners’ occupation was illegal and the land never formally declared a slum. It concluded the claim was “legally untenable and unsustainable,” dismissing the petition.

Back in Dahisar, residents fear similar evictions and are urging the government to preserve the mangrove ecosystems instead of encouraging encroachments or construction. Environmentalists warn that continued destruction of mangroves could have severe ecological consequences for Mumbai’s already fragile coastline.