By Varub Singh

68.4 hectares of Mangrove Forest Area under the CIDCO jurisdiction in the Panvel Taluka was handed over to the Mangrove Cell of the Forest Department in the second phase on 21 February 2022.

Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, VC & MD, CIDCO handed over the mangrove area to M Adarsh Reddy, Divisional Forest Officer, Mumbai Mangroves Conservation Unit.

In the first phase, CIDCO has handed over 281.77 hectares of Mangrove forest under its jurisdiction to the Forest Department. Considering the importance of these mangrove forests, they have been handed over to the Forest Department by CIDCO aiming to protect and conserve mangrove regions as ‘Reserved Forest.’

“We are committed to the Environment and sustainable development. While planning Navi Mumbai, CIDCO had kept about 40% area for green cover including gardens, playgrounds and Non Development zone. Under the guidance of GoM so far, CIDCO has handed over Approx. 2000 hectares of land to the forest department, making it the only Government organization and Public Sector Undertaking to hand over such large pieces of mangrove lands,” said Dr. Sanjay Mukherjee, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, CIDCO

In order to protect and preserve the mangrove forests in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the concerned government agencies and authorities were asked to transfer the mangrove forest areas under their jurisdiction to the Mangrove Cell of the Forest Department. In the first phase, CIDCO transferred a total of 281.77 hectares of Mangroves forests in August 2021.

Out of the total 281.77 hectares, 134 hectares were located at Kamothe, 38 hectares at Panvel, and 109 hectares at Kolhe-Khar. In the second phase, CIDCO handed over a total of 68.4 hectares of Mangrove forest area to the Forest Department. Out of the total 68.4 hectares, 24.20 hectares are located at Ulwe, 3.15 hectares at Wahal, 39.94 hectares at Waghiwali, and 0.75 hectares at Sonkhar.

Also, CIDCO has planted Mangroves over 370 Hectares with the help of Mangrove cell, which is functional. Mangrove interpretation cell is also located in Airoli.

Mangroves play an important role in preventing the flooding of residential areas during heavy monsoon and storms and significantly reduce soil erosion in the coastal areas. These mangrove forests are also home to a large number of species of animals, birds, and aquatic life. Thus, in order to provide sufficient statutory security to the mangrove region in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, CIDCO has notified and handed over the mentioned mangrove region to the mangroves cell of the forest department.

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