PIL seeks to put an end to mining in green zone….Viju B
MUMBAI: A public interest litigation (PIL) seeking judicial intervention to protect the eco-fragile Sawantwadi-Dodamarg region from rampant mining and haphazard development has been filed in the Bombay high court.
The 35-kilometre stretch in Sindhudurg district is an integral wildlife corridor for sanctuaries and national parks in the state, Goa and Karnataka.
The PIL, filed by NGO Awaaz Foundation, has urged the Bombay high court to direct the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to declare the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg corridor as an eco-sensitive region on the lines of Matheran and Mahableshwar-Panchgani.
“The forest department data shows that elephants and tigers use this route which goes through wildlife sanctuaries in Koyna and Radhanagari, Chandoli national park (all in Maharashtra) as well as national parks in Goa and Karnataka. Also, there are around 30 villages in this region which have been peacefully co-existing with the surrounding environment for hundreds of years,” Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation said.
The petition includes a letter by Union environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan directing him to review 49 mining leases proposed by the state government. In a series of reports, TOI had highlighted how the leases would have destroyed the eco-sensitive Sindhudurg region. Nearly 32 of these proposed leases are in the Sawantwadi-Dodamarg zone.
“More than 18 lakh trees were felled in the last two years in Dodamarg alone. Recently, a proposal was made to the principal chief conservator of forests for diversion of a private forest land in Kesari village, Sawantwadi, for mining of iron ore. If cleared, the proposal will result in the destruction of 75,410 trees,” Abdulali said.
According to environmentalists, open-cast process is being used to excavate iron ore in Kalne village despite strong opposition from locals. “The 32 proposed mining leases would result in the destruction of over 2 crore trees,” said D Stalin, project director of NGO Vanashakti. He said that the stretch meets the eco-parameters set by Dr Pronab Sen committee in 2000 for declaring a region as an ecologically-sensitive zone.