The circular, a copy of which was made available to TOI, said that it will now be mandatory for builders in this area to obtain prior construction permission from the National Board for Wildlife. Environmentalists say that the buffer zone should not be seen as ‘anti-development’.
It is important to strike a balance between environmental protection and development. The buffer zone around the Thane Bird Sanctuary is essential, but expanding it to 10 km could affect hundreds of construction projects in Mumbai. The Thane Forest Department should only ensure that no green cover is destroyed around the sanctuary. There is no point in expanding the buffer zone in areas like Dadar and Kurla.
As per the BMC circular, projects in 15 wards in Mumbai fall within the 10 km buffer zone.
The suburban wards include areas such as Kurla (L), Chembur (M East and M West), Bhandup (S), Mulund (T), Ghatkopar-East (N), Kandivali, Borivali, Dahisar, Andheri-East and Bandra-East. Huh. . Island city areas include Dadar (G North), Matunga (F North) and Parel (F South).
Vinod Chittore, head of BMC’s DP department, said builders whose projects fall under the buffer zone will have to take clearance from the forest department before their plans are approved by their department.
Shock to builders due to bird sanctuary ban, vegetables satisfied
There are opposing views of builders and environmentalists on construction restrictions within a buffer zone of 10 km from the boundary of Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
Builder Deepak Goradia, chairman of CREDAI-MCHI, said that as per the Supreme Court order of December 2018, the 10 km buffer should be applicable to all forest sanctuaries where the state has not set eco-sensitive boundaries. He said that the states have been given the freedom to finalize and modify the buffer zones. “Last March, the Maharashtra government finalized the ecological boundaries of 3.89 km and sent the proposal file to Delhi. The Union Environment Ministry sought objections and suggestions and the 60-day period ended in June. We are waiting for the final notification from the Centre,” Goradia said.
Vinod Chittore, head of BMC’s DP department, said, “We have heard that the Union Environment Ministry is expected to reduce the buffer zone, but nothing is on record as of now and this circular will remain in force till then.”
The BMC circular cited a letter from the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Thane Division, which stated that prior permission is required for all development/construction works falling within the 10 km buffer zone.
The Mumbai-based lead developer said, “The essential conditions of the Supreme Court’s 2018 order have been complied with and the boundary distance has already been published. This sudden BMC circular will have a huge negative impact on over three lakh migrant workers who have just returned to Mumbai and on projects worth over Rs 5 lakh crore. The authorities should sort out the matter as such a sudden jolt has a huge negative impact on investor and buyer sentiment.
Environmentalist D. Stalin said, “It only means that constructions that involve widespread destruction of nature will face obstacles. But even those have been cleared case to case using appropriate mitigation measures. Well, now all builders have a free run without any safeguards or mitigations. Ecological areas inside the buffer will be protected. Construction is not restricted, it is regulated.”
“The ministry had invited objections and suggestions on the draft notifications and these have been sent to us. We will now add our comments to the objections/suggestions and place the same before the Expert Appraisal Committee of MoEFCC for a final decision. A meeting is scheduled for the second week of August,” said Virendra Tiwari of the mangrove conservation cell.
The last notification declaring 16.9 sq km as a flamingo sanctuary was issued in 2018. This is one of the mitigation measures for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link.
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