Hindustan
Times: Mumbai: Thursday, 06 May 2021.
More than five years have passed since former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis, acting as the chairman of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), approved a proposal to declare three wetlands in Mumbai, Raigad and Thane districts as bird sanctuaries. However, the respective water area including wetlands of Mahul-Shivdi, Panje-Funde and TSC-NRI wetlands in Navi Mumbai are yet to be notified as such, as per provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Activists earlier this week wrote to CM Uddhav Thackeray, drawing his attention to this delay, and urged him to expedite protection for these ecologically sensitive areas, which support a rich biodiversity of migratory birds during winter months. The Fadnavis government had, on December 4, 2015, proposed to declare nearly 1,600 hectares of wetland as bird sanctuary while approving the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project.
The same day, via the official Facebook page of the Chief Minister’s office, it had been announced, “CM Devendra Fadnavis chaired the 10th meeting of the State Wildlife Board at Mumbai, in presence of forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. The board approved three bird sanctuaries in Mumbai region (Mahul-Shivdi, TSC land near Palm Beach and Panje Funde), which will help in conservation of flamingos.” Mitigation measures suggested by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) were taken into consideration before giving approval to the MTHL project, the post read.
More than five years have passed since former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis, acting as the chairman of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), approved a proposal to declare three wetlands in Mumbai, Raigad and Thane districts as bird sanctuaries. However, the respective water area including wetlands of Mahul-Shivdi, Panje-Funde and TSC-NRI wetlands in Navi Mumbai are yet to be notified as such, as per provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Activists earlier this week wrote to CM Uddhav Thackeray, drawing his attention to this delay, and urged him to expedite protection for these ecologically sensitive areas, which support a rich biodiversity of migratory birds during winter months. The Fadnavis government had, on December 4, 2015, proposed to declare nearly 1,600 hectares of wetland as bird sanctuary while approving the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link project.
The same day, via the official Facebook page of the Chief Minister’s office, it had been announced, “CM Devendra Fadnavis chaired the 10th meeting of the State Wildlife Board at Mumbai, in presence of forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. The board approved three bird sanctuaries in Mumbai region (Mahul-Shivdi, TSC land near Palm Beach and Panje Funde), which will help in conservation of flamingos.” Mitigation measures suggested by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) were taken into consideration before giving approval to the MTHL project, the post read.
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