Aafrin Kidwai 
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Maharashtra authorities to come up with an action plan to reduce waste that is affecting mangrove forests and coastal wetlands along Mumbai.
The state has been asked to report on the extent of garbage and develop a mitigation plan for its removal to the NGT in six weeks.“ We direct the divisional forest officer of the area and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to submit the remedial measures which are required to be taken to solve the problem,” the order read. The next hearing date is scheduled on October 7, reports The Hindustan Times.
“If the matter is not addressed, TCFS and our mangrove forests will become garbage dumps very soon,” said Stalin D, director, Vanashakti, which has filed an application on coastal water pollution and the impact of solid waste entering the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS).
The mangrove cell under the forest department had informed the NGT during an earlier hearing that 8,000 tons of garbage were removed from different mangrove forests in successive clean-up operations. The cell estimates Mumbai’s mangrove forests (6,600 hectares) have around 50,000 tons of plastic waste strewn due to improper waste treatment.
“An action plan based on NGT’s orders will be prepared. We have already developed a strategy to tackle waste at TCFS under the sanctuary’s recently approved management plan,” said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest (mangrove cell).
According to MPCB, creeks, rivers and the sea along Mumbai’s 437.71 sq km coast is under threat from municipal waste including plastic that is directly discharged into nullahs. Untreated domestic waste accounts for 93% pollution for these water bodies, wetlands and mangrove areas, MPCB said.
