Nearly 30 acres of a coastal buffer zone of mangroves in Borivli (W) was illegally reclaimed by dumping truckloads of debris. A part of this encroached land is to be used for a private wedding function which is to take place on Sunday. Local activists and members of the New Link Road Residents Forum have complained to the state mangrove cell, the tehsildar, and also the BMC. No immediate action was taken by the authorities to remove the illegally dumped debris at the site. A formal site visit by the forest and revenue officials is being planned at Dharma Nagar in Borvli on February 25. The Maharashtra state manGrove cell head, S V Ra-marao, said that the mangroove buffer area in question is “privately owned” “We have requested the tehnildar to take action against the construction and encroachment under the Environment Protection Act, 1986,” Ramarao said. The range forest officer Shankar Kavate confirmed that he had received the complaint and that the site visit has been planned for Feb 25.
