As per senior officials of the cell they are working on a plan to plant mango saplings inside trenches that are dug after demolishing illegal structures built on swamps.
With work on restoration of wetlands and mangroves being in a limbo because the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation didn't clear the debris that were dumped, the State Mangrove Cell is planning a pilot project that might help them tide over this issue.
As per senior officials of the cell they are working on a plan to plant mango saplings inside trenches that are dug after demolishing illegal structures built on swamps.
"We cannot completely clear the debris on the ground but are evaluating ways to remove a substantial amount of them from a one acre plot at Charkop in Kandivali near Sai Dham Nagar. We have already dug deep trenches to allow tide water to flow in and dissuade future encroachment; as a test project, saplings will be planted in these trenches after digging further deeper to see if they saplings grow roots," said Prashant Deshmukh, Range Forest Officer (RFO), Mangrove Cell. He added that the reason they need to remove debris first is to ensure that the trenches are not re-filled by debris lying around.
Deshmukh said they are also going to check in case mango trees cannot grow at these sites, if there are chances of mangrove associated plants growing. "There are several other varieties of plants that grow around mangroves comfortably like miswak, karanj, etc, and we will study the feasibility of planting them around the mango saplings as well," he said.
It's not only the officials of Mangrove Cell but also activists who have been fighting to save mangroves. They have for long hammered the BMC for not clearing mangrove swaths where debris were dumped. Activists have been claiming that all the efforts of carrying out demolition and clearing encroached mangrove land will be rendered pointless if debris are not cleared.
DISTRICT WISE MANGROVE COVER ASSESSMENT OF MAHARASHTRA 2017
2 sq km Mumbai city
64 sq km Mumbai suburban
90 sq km Thane (including Palgarh)
106 sq km Raigad
30 sq km Ratnagiri
12 sq km Sindhudur
TOTAL: 304 sq km
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