The Maharashtra tourism department has started the process of handing over nearly 700 acres of land with mangroves in Manori to the forest department. This land portion will be the first ‘mangrove forest’ in Mumbai.
This comes after the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) wrote a letter to the Forest Department’s Mangrove Cell asking them to identify mangroves situated within a large plot in Manori. This land parcel is owned by the MTDC and the agency wanted to hand it over to the forest department who could then turn it into a reserved forest.
Also read - Mangroves To Be Planned On A 10-Hectare Area In Vikhroli
Joint Managing Director of the MTDC, Ashutosh Salil said, “This was being discussed for quite some time. Now we have written to the mangrove cell, asking them to survey the plot and earmark the land that has mangroves. Our preliminary survey shows that [the mangroves] could be spread over around 700 acres. We can’t develop this land anyway, so it was decided to hand it over to the forest department.”
Though nearly 700 acres have been handed over, the MTDC is expected to have up to 200 acres of land for the development of tourism and other related activities in regions like Manori and Gorai.
Read - Mumbai Builders Seek Transferable Development Rights For Mangrove Plots
Officials from the tourism department have said that around 130 acres in Gorai and 75 acres in Manori will be kept aside for tourist amenities, parking as well as playgrounds. Around 850 acres in the Manori-Gorai region have been deemed mangrove lands.
As per an official familiar with the matter, this call was taken by Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray who is also said to have asked the officials to hasten the process. The official also said that some portion of the mangrove region will remain on the MTDC’s watch.
“We will carry out a detailed site verification of along creek edges both at Gorai and Manori to demarcate the area that the MTDC can hand over. This will ensure that the mangroves are free from encroachments and debris,” another official quoted by Mumbai Mirror said.
Also read - Aarey Land Declared As Reserve Forest
Share
Tweet
