Govt invites biz houses to adopt mangroves….Yogesh Naik
Private groups and organisations will be given the responsibility of restoring and protecting mangrove tracts,Pune college has already volunteered
Private groups and organisations will be given the responsibility of restoring and protecting mangrove tracts,Pune college has already volunteered
The State Environment Department,alarmed by the destruction of mangroves due to rapid urbanisation,has come up with a scheme wherein corporates and organisations can adopt mangroves.So far,four entities,including a college,have come forward to join the scheme.
A senior official of the department said that it was yet to decide the nittygritty of the project.Certain mangrove tracts that are facing degradation will be handed over to these groups.They will have to restore the area,help in regeneration of mangroves and protect them, he said.
Gujarat-based Adani group,Poona Engineering College and two NGOs from Dahisar and Dahanu have expressed interest in looking after mangroves.Adani,in fact,has made a presentation before the environment department on how they can be restored and conserved.The official said that though private groups support had been sought,they wont be allowed to put up ads on areas allotted to them.We will not allow them to erect any banners or hoardings.We wont give them any advertisement rights either.They will have to look after mangroves as part of their social responsibility projects, he said.
Godrej group has been protecting mangroves in Ghatkopar,Vikhroli and Kanjur Marg since several years now.It has fenced them off,and due to its sustained efforts,women from Diva and Mumbra who used to chop off the tropical tree for firewood have stayed away.
Adani,according to the official,runs a similar conservation drive in Gujarat.Apart from corporates,the State Government is hopeful of getting aid from Gujarat Ecological Society.
Sources in BMC said that a group of residents of Lokhandwala complex was also keen on adopting Versova-Lokhandwala mangroves.It has been active in preventing the builder lobby from removing them.In fact,residents called the fire brigade and cops when some elements set fire mangroves opposite MHADA complex on fire some time back.
Environmentalists say green initiatives by the state are welcome,but efforts should be made to sustain such efforts.Some years back,the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority appointed security guards to protect mangroves in the eastern suburbs.
However,this initiative petered out a few months later.
This idea (of adopting mangroves) has been discussed for some time now.I would like to see some results, said Rishi Agarwal of Mangrove Society of India.Environment officials had drafted a policy to protect the tropical tree.Sources in the mantralaya claim the forest department scuttled it,saying many mangrove areas are designated forests now.
* The Godrej group has been protecting mangroves in Ghatkopar,Vikhroli and Kanjur Marg since several years now
* The Godrej group has been protecting mangroves in Ghatkopar,Vikhroli and Kanjur Marg since several years now