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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has moved the Supreme Court against a Bombay High Court order directing it to restore 119.91 hectares of land in Kanjurmarg to mangrove forest. BMC argues the land is vital for waste disposal, handling 90% of Mumbai's solid waste. The land's status has been contested since 2006, with a 2009 government move to de-notify it as forest facing legal challenge from NGO Vanshakti. The High Court ruled that forest de-notification lacked Central approval, making it invalid. BMC claims part of the land was mistakenly tagged as forest and is now urging the Supreme Court to reverse the order.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has filed a challenge in the Supreme Court against a Bombay High Court order that directed the civic body to restore a 119.91-hectare patch of land in Kanjurmarg to its original state as a mangrove forest. The BMC argues that it has no other similar space for waste disposal, and this particular plot serves as a dumping ground for 90 percent of the city's solid waste. Advertisement
The dispute has a long history. In April 2006, the High Court initially allowed the land, which was originally a protected forest, to be used as a dumping ground. This permission was granted on the condition that no mangroves would be destroyed. Subsequently, a non-profit organization named Vanshakti challenged a December 2009 Maharashtra government notification. This notification had de-notified the entire plot as forest land, which Vanshakti argued was in contravention of the due process stipulated under the Forest Conservation Act.
The BMC's appeal to the Supreme Court claims that in July 2008, parts of Mumbai were notified as protected forests, which included nearly 424.89 acres of land in Kanjurmarg. The appeal stated that a part of the 141.77 hectares identified as a waste disposal ground, although not a forest area, was "inadvertently" included in the notification.
The plea claims that in its March order, the High Court had ruled that the Maharashtra government had no power to rectify its mistake since permission of the Central Government for de-notification of the reserved forests was not taken. The BMC calls the High Court's decision erroneous and has approached the Supreme Court to quash it.
The case highlights the ongoing challenges between urban development needs and environmental protection in Mumbai.
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