The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the rapid decline of Mumbai's mangrove cover, cautioning that if the trend continues, the city could reach a stage where people may have to carry "oxygen cylinders to take oxygen shots."
A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. (MSETCL), which has sought permission to cut 847 mangrove trees for laying a 132 KV transmission line between Dahanu and Ambesari in Palghar district. The transmission line is intended to support the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project.
The Court said its primary concern was not merely the felling of mangroves but the failure of authorities to ensure that compensatory plantations survive.
"The problem is that you all do not replant. The plants which you then plant have started dying. You only create a picture that you have planted something. You don't turn around and see whether it is alive after you have planted it," the Bench observed.
The judges also questioned the proposal to undertake compensatory afforestation outside the affected region, noting that replacing lost mangroves elsewhere does not offset the environmental damage suffered by the area where trees are removed. The Bench remarked that afforestation should not be carried out in places that already have substantial forest cover.
"It is a loss for this area. As it is, Bombay has so little oxygen that the day will not be far when people will carry oxygen cylinders to take oxygen shots," the Court said.
Appearing for the State, Advocate General Milind Sathe informed the Court that the government would identify degraded forest land within the same region for compensatory afforestation instead of planting trees elsewhere. He, however, acknowledged that the process would take time.
According to MSETCL, the proposed 13.06-kilometre transmission line requires the diversion of 3.35 hectares of forest land, including 1.9656 hectares of mangrove forest. The company stated that it had examined three alternative alignments before selecting the present route, claiming it would cause the least ecological damage.
The company further argued that the transmission line is essential for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project, which is expected to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister in October.
The matter assumes significance in light of the Bombay High Court's 2018 judgment imposing a complete ban on the destruction of mangroves without prior judicial approval. Since then, all public infrastructure projects involving mangrove felling require the Court's permission.
