Environmental activists are now hopeful as the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision to stay axing of mangroves for the construction of a bridge in Andheri has come across.
The authorities had earlier planned to construct a bridge connecting the Yari Road junction and Lokhandwala backroad in the Versova area of Andheri in order to reduce vehicular traffic. According to reports, activists now hope for Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to redesign the project in an environmentally friendly manner.
In the past, several citizens residing in the Versova area had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the project in the Bombay High Court, which dismissed the PIL in December 2020, following which they moved the SC to challenge the order.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray had earlier instructed the concerned authorities to take immediate steps to stop the axing of Kandal forest as well as the practice of damaging the Kandal forest by dumping debris. Moreover, the Shiv Sena leader also directed authorities to take action against the developers and vehicles involved in dumping debris in these mangrove forests.
In addition, several environmental groups have alleged that large tracts of mangroves are being systematically destroyed across Mumbai and nearby areas due to slow progress in handing over the coastal vegetation to the state's forest department. Meanwhile, many NGO administrations stated that despite the state government asking district collectors, CIDCO and JNPT to transfer mangroves under their control to the forest department, things are not moving in the right direction.
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