MUMBAI: The Bombay excessive courtroom (HC) on Thursday issued notices to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company (BMC), the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Administration Authority (MCZMA), and the Konkan Wetland Committee over alleged unlawful permission for growth on a recognised wetland in Goregaon West.
HC questions BMC nod for development on Goregaon wetland
A division bench comprising chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Makarand Karnik was listening to a public curiosity litigation (PIL) filed by environmental activist Zoru Bhathena. The PIL challenges the BMC’s 2023 approval granted to non-public builders for landfilling and development on a 191.39-hectare plot within the Pahadi space, which, based on the petitioner, has been recognized as a wetland since 1991 by the MCZMA.
Wetlands are recognized primarily based on ecological significance, corresponding to supporting migratory birds, sustaining biodiversity, or offering ecosystem providers like flood mitigation.
Bhathena stated the location falls beneath CRZ-1 (Coastal Regulation Zone), as per the Wetland Atlas ready by the MCZMA. He alleged that builders—Beeline Impex Pvt. Ltd and Pearl CosChem Pvt. Ltd—utilized in 2022 to construct a compound wall and perform landfilling work. This request was authorized by the BMC the next 12 months.
The petition additional claims that 39,601 sq. metres of landfilling was already carried out across the fringe of the plot, which borders mangroves. Satellite tv for pc imagery used to demarcate the excessive tide line confirms the world is low-lying and influenced by tidal water, Bhathena stated.
He accused the builders of manipulating the location situations to deceive satellite tv for pc monitoring techniques by blocking the pure circulate of tidal water. Bhathena emphasised that, as per earlier courtroom rulings, no reclamation or growth is allowed on areas listed within the wetland atlas with out courtroom permission.
The PIL additionally states that in Might 2023, the BMC altered the event plan for a similar plot whereas allocating it for Maharashtra Nationwide Regulation College. The land’s designation was modified to “residential use” with out altering its CRZ-1 classification.
Calling the BMC’s actions unlawful, Bhathena has urged the courtroom to order restoration of the wetland and to difficulty a everlasting keep on any additional growth.
The courtroom has now requested the BMC, MCZMA, and the Konkan Wetland Committee to file their responses.