Authorities begin ‘priority’ mangrove cutting at Charkop for Mumbai Coastal Road north project

Mumbai: Barely a week after residents took to the streets to protest the proposed felling of nearly 45,000 mangroves for the Mumbai Coastal Road (North) project, authorities on Wednesday began the process for what they called ‘priority' cutting of mangroves at Charkop in Kandivali.Raising immediate objection to it, UBT Shiv Sena leader and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray said, "Stopped the work today by our local office bearers. This indiscriminate hacking of mangroves cannot be allowed! Our city hit 40 deg in March and the govt wants to convert our state into a desert."Officials from the Maharashtra Mangrove Cell on Wednesday reached the site to initiate the work, which forms part of the preparatory activities for the coastal road extension. The move drew strong opposition from local residents and environmental activists too, who rushed to the spot to voice their concerns.SV Ramarao, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) and head of the Maharashtra Mangrove Cell, said the process would be carried out in phases. "The area is slushy, so it is difficult to estimate how long the work will take. Before any work begins, the entire stretch will be demarcated in phases. The mangroves that are trimmed or cut will be geotagged," he said.According to officials, the geotagging exercise is meant to ensure proper documentation and monitoring of the mangroves affected during the project. Authorities maintained that the work was undertaken only after securing all the necessary statutory permissions.However, residents from nearby localities expressed anger over the start of the work, saying their concerns about the ecological impact of the project were not adequately addressed. Many residents last week staged protests against the plan, warning that the loss of mangroves — which act as natural buffers against flooding and coastal erosion — could have long-term environmental consequences for the area.Milli Shetty, a Charkop resident, said that only recently a WhatsApp group was formed of residents, along with civic engineers and contractors, so that they remained informed about any developments with regard to the project. "However, we weren't informed about this mangrove cutting process beginning," said Shetty.While approximately 60,000 mangroves fall in the influence zone of the Mumbai Coastal Road (North) project, around 45,000 are being impacted. Of these, around 9,000 mangroves will be permanently cut. The infrastructure project, estimated to cost the corporation over Rs 20,000 crores, will pass through an alignment area of 103 hectares.Mumbai Coastal Road-North, or Versova Dahisar Link Road (VDLR), is a 22-kilometre alignment that includes roads on land, elevated sections, roads on stilts, a cable-stayed bridge, and a cut-and-cover tunnel beneath a creek.Compensatory afforestation for all the impacted mangroves will be done on a land parcel in Bhayander, located on the outskirts of Mumbai. Apart from this, a non-forest area in Chandrapur along the Tadoba forest will also be taken up for plantation, which officials said would be in addition to the compensatory plantation being done at Bhayander.