The State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik has responded positively to environmental groups’ request to establish a mangrove walk at the Vashi restoration site and pledged protection for five critical wetlands, including the Panje site in Uran.
During a meeting with representatives of the NatConnect Foundation, minister Naik approved a proposal by director B.N. Kumar to have a one-kilometre, wooden zig‑zag walkway constructed on Survey No. 17 near Vashi railway station. This four‑hectare area, recently cleared of illegal slums and the mangroves destroyed to make way for them, offers an ideal blank canvas for the project, Kumar explained. “As no living mangroves remain, installation of wooden support poles will be straightforward, avoiding challenges faced at Gorai,” he said.
NatConnect director B N Kumar presenting document on wetlands to Forest Minister Ganesh Naik |
The minister is informed to have immediately referred the plan to his department and announced his intention to roll out four mangrove walks across Navi Mumbai: at Vashi, Ghansoli, Airoli, and Belapur. “I shall discuss this with my officers and ensure these projects move forward,” he said.
Earlier, Naik was felicitated by a delegation of bird and nature enthusiasts for securing conservation‑reserve status for DPS Flamingo Lake. Attendees, including former corporator Netra Shirke and activist Sandeep Sareen, praised his swift action to safeguard the lake’s flamingo population.
NatConnect also presented Naik with a dossier advocating legal protection for the wetlands at NRI, TS Chanakya in Nerul, Belpada, Bhendkhal, and Panje in Uran. Both the mangrove cell and the Bombay Natural History Society have recommended incorporating these sites into the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary management plan—a proposal that Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited has endorsed to preserve local biodiversity.
