Sludge is being dumped on mangrove land at Kanjurmarg and Bandra-Kurla Complex, according to the findings of a committee set up by the Bombay High Court on April 4.
The three-member committee—comprising high court Registrar S S Deshmukh, Shyam Asolekar of IIT-Powai and Sanjay Deshmukh, professor of Life Sciences with the University of Mumbai—examined eight spots across a 2-km area near the Kanjurmarg dumping ground and the dumping ground near Bandra-Kurla Complex.
In a report submitted to the court on Monday, they confirmed that actual dumping of Mithi river sludge sprinkled with lime slurry was noticed ‘‘on sparse mangroves and near the mangroves’’.
The committee further found that:
At Kanjurmarg:
Sludge is also being dumped on wetlands, consisting of a healthy ecosystem of marine algae, macro and micro faunal elements and well-established mangroves
An access road up to the dumping ground is blocking natural channels and culverts that were facilitating the flow of tidal water
The sludge being dumped can be considered dangerous from its odour and colour. The probable chemical components will also adversely effect the mangrove ecosystem and possibly damage the mangroves
The tide may also carry the harmful sludge to the Thane creek
At Bandra-Kurla Complex:
The widening of the road on the western bank of the Mithi river has divided the mangrove stretches and the debris dumped on them has gone up to the trunks of the mangroves
Sludge and even construction debris is being dumped on the spot behind Dena Bank and no precaution has been taken to prevent it from slipping onto the mangroves. (Here, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has clarified that the debris is only drying and will be shifted to the Deonar dump after proper treatment)
Reacting to the report, Chief Justice Kshitij Vyas and Justice D Y Chandrachud came down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and asked it to explain the findings.
The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.