Mumbai: The state environment and climate change department has completed the identification and delineation of 15,918 wetlands across all districts in Maharashtra. Out of 15,918 wetlands, just 108 are listed as naturally occurring water bodies. Mumbai and its suburbs were found to be home to 55 wetlands, of which 34 were naturally occurring, including Powai Lake, Vihar Lake and Tulsi Lake.
A comprehensive stock-taking of the state’s wetlands has been pending since it was first ordered by the Bombay High Court in 2013 and subsequently reordered by an HC-appointed committee in 2020, and by the State Wetland Authority in 2021.
A copy of the state department’s list has been accessed by Hindustan Times. These 15,918 wetlands are all larger than 2.5 hectares in area. The National Wetland Inventory Atlas (NWIA), whose validity has been upheld by both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court, had counted a total of 44,714 wetlands in Maharashtra of which 23,046 were larger than 2.5 hectares in area. Environment department officials confirmed that a second exercise to identify smaller wetlands is on the cards and will commence by early next year.
However, a whopping majority of wetlands larger than 2.5 hectares have been shown as “man-made” structures, which are not protected under the Centre’s Wetland Rules (2017), putting them at risk of encroachment and burial, environmentalists said.
“What is disturbing is that many natural salt marshes and waterbodies are being shown as man-made tanks. Though the state government has made a commendable attempt at creating a thorough inventory of wetlands, how most have been described is mischievously excluding them from the ambit of legal protection,” said Stalin D, director of environment NGO Vanashakti.
He added that this is being done to help the real estate lobby.
“There has been a lot of physical wetland reduction between 2015 and 2018, just as the new wetland rules were coming into play. Wetlands in Palghar, Vasai-Virar and Uran are prime examples,” said Stalin.
The environmentalist added that the state government should have drawn up a wetland atlas of its own back in 2013 when it was asked to do so by the HC.
“If you are going to stick with the 2017 definition of wetlands in the fresh assessment, there will be many others that are at risk of becoming declassified, like Panje or TSC-NRI wetlands in Navi Mumbai,” said Stalin, adding that wetlands must be assessed based on the biological factors, such as the presence of birds, fish and wildlife.
In September 2017, the Union Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified the new Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017, replacing its 2010 version. The new rules left out wetlands protected under forest and wildlife laws and the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and also the human-made water bodies and all salt pans.
An official with the state environment department, seeking anonymity, said, “The Central government has gone ahead and notified the 2017 Wetland Rules and so that is the document we have to follow in our assessment. We will be submitting our inventory before the courts and they will take the final call in Vanashakti’s pending PILs.”