‘After FIR, pollution board softens stand on Esselworld’
Environmental group flays MPCB court affidavit, which says the entertainment park has set up a mangrove nursery at Gorai site.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), which has filed a police FIR against Esselworld for mass destruction of mangroves, could be beginning to go soft on the entertainment park, alleges Vanashakti Trust, which has launched a crusade against the destruction of mangroves.
Irked by mass-scale destruction of mangroves, principal secretary (forest) Praveen Pardeshi had ordered his men to conduct a site visit. Their report on the destruction of mangroves was published in Mirror on June 21, 2014 and thereafter an FIR was registered by the Gorai police on June 23, 2014.
The FIR and affidavit are filed by the same person, Raju Vasave, regional officer of the MPCB.
DStalin of Vanashakti said, “There is no mangrove park or nursery there. All the mangroves on the Esselworld plot have been existing here since years. Usage of words like nursery are being used to dilute the case.”
In the July 14 affidavit, Vasave says that the MPCB lacks expertise in mangroves. He says that the board is connected with implementation of the Water Act (Prevention and Control of Pollution) and Air Act (Prevention and Control of Pollution). He says that the forest department has constituted a cell for the protection of mangroves in 2013. His affidavit also mentions that the FIR was lodged only after directions from the collector.
Stalin of Vanashakti, which had earlier moved the Bombay High Court in the matter, said, “As usual, a routine FIR has been filed. No restoration of mangroves has been done, nor has any penalty been levied. Not a single wetland site in Mumbai, which has been dumped on or destroyed, has been restored. After some time the cases are forgotten and construction and land transformation complete. The system colludes with those who destroy wetlands. Mercifully, in the case of Esselworld, the state forest department did its duty honestly. The MPCB, on the other hand, has hopelessly tried to cover up in this case. The only way out is to authorise the forest department to apply the Environment Protection Act in privately owned wetlands.”
Esselworld vice president R P Tyagi said, “We have a 30-acre mangrove belt and there are different varieties of mangroves in our park and nursery. We have a mangrove park and nursery here and no one highlights that. We have love for environment and have done a lot for mangrove conservation.”
Vasave did not respond to calls, while MPCB member secretary Rajeev Mittal said he will look into the matter.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), which has filed a police FIR against Esselworld for mass destruction of mangroves, could be beginning to go soft on the entertainment park, alleges Vanashakti Trust, which has launched a crusade against the destruction of mangroves.
Irked by mass-scale destruction of mangroves, principal secretary (forest) Praveen Pardeshi had ordered his men to conduct a site visit. Their report on the destruction of mangroves was published in Mirror on June 21, 2014 and thereafter an FIR was registered by the Gorai police on June 23, 2014.
However, in an affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court on July 14, the MPCB regional officer said there is a “30-acre mangrove park with a nursery” on the site. The affidavit says that Esselworld created the park. However, it makes no mention of the 15 acres of mangroves the FIR says is destroyed.
The FIR and affidavit are filed by the same person, Raju Vasave, regional officer of the MPCB.
DStalin of Vanashakti said, “There is no mangrove park or nursery there. All the mangroves on the Esselworld plot have been existing here since years. Usage of words like nursery are being used to dilute the case.”
In the July 14 affidavit, Vasave says that the MPCB lacks expertise in mangroves. He says that the board is connected with implementation of the Water Act (Prevention and Control of Pollution) and Air Act (Prevention and Control of Pollution). He says that the forest department has constituted a cell for the protection of mangroves in 2013. His affidavit also mentions that the FIR was lodged only after directions from the collector.
Stalin of Vanashakti, which had earlier moved the Bombay High Court in the matter, said, “As usual, a routine FIR has been filed. No restoration of mangroves has been done, nor has any penalty been levied. Not a single wetland site in Mumbai, which has been dumped on or destroyed, has been restored. After some time the cases are forgotten and construction and land transformation complete. The system colludes with those who destroy wetlands. Mercifully, in the case of Esselworld, the state forest department did its duty honestly. The MPCB, on the other hand, has hopelessly tried to cover up in this case. The only way out is to authorise the forest department to apply the Environment Protection Act in privately owned wetlands.”
Esselworld vice president R P Tyagi said, “We have a 30-acre mangrove belt and there are different varieties of mangroves in our park and nursery. We have a mangrove park and nursery here and no one highlights that. We have love for environment and have done a lot for mangrove conservation.”
Vasave did not respond to calls, while MPCB member secretary Rajeev Mittal said he will look into the matter.
