MUMBAI: The Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Navi Mumbai violates the environmental conditions and mangrove buffer zones, green groups have complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The PMAY projects, particularly in Mansarovar and Kharghar areas, have come up in proximity of mangroves, mudflats and inter-tidal wetlands, the complaint filed by NatConnect Foundation on PMO Public Grievance website states.
The status report on the website says the complaint has been referred to Arvind Kumar Agrawal, director in the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC).
In fact, the compound wall of the Kharghar project, on the northern side of the railway station, almost touches the mangroves with the distance between the sea plants and the project being 8 metres to 25 metres, NatConnect director B N Kumar said.
This is in violation of both the central and state clearances given for the projects, he argued.
The EC summary, issued by the Union ministry of environment & climate change clearly stated that no mangroves will be affected during construction of the entire project and that the 50-metre buffer line has to be maintained. There is supposed to be thick vegetation of tall trees with foliage along the buffer line to mitigate any fugitive dust emission etc. towards the mangrove area.
NatConnect attached the recent Google Earth picture and actual ground photographs to fortify its case.
The 143rd meeting of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority held on February 4, 2020, clearly noted that the projects were partly under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 1 and hence Cidco was prohibited from doing any construction in the 50-metre mangrove buffer zone and to maintain a 100-metre CRZ setback for the creek.
But the Kharghar project presents a worrying scene as the PMAY buildings have come up in the danger line, Kumar said.
The compound wall will push the high tide line towards the Panvel creek and this is bound to cause flooding in other areas as water finds its own course and does not go by Cidco walls, Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Hills and Wetland forum said.
What is even more shocking is that the urban planners in all their wisdom appear to be constructing housing colonies into the sea at a time when the rising sea levels has become a major global concern, she said.
NatConnect Foundation’s concern is that the 10,000 people who will be accommodated at Kharghar project will permanently be under the threat of tidal wave attacks, Kumar said.
The environmental clearances have been given post the state mangrove cell visits and with conditions that the mangrove zones should not be impacted.
The environmentalists, therefore, call for a thorough on the spot inquiry and taking measures to save the people and properties.
“After all, it is the tax-payers’ hard-earned money that goes as subsidies into the PMAY project,” NatConnect said and offered to accompany the probe teams and point out the violations.
