The state government on Monday told the Bombay high court that the dumping of solid waste on mangroves at Uran was stopped last Friday. “From (December)10th, dumping of garbage at the site is completely stopped,” advocate general (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told a bench of Justices Shahrukh Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav. Last week the court had turned to state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray to “intervene” and resolve the “long-standing issue” of a dumping ground for Uran. A petition was filed in December 2018 by Hanuman Koliwada Macchimar Vikas Maryadit saying dumping of solid waste on mangroves was impacting the breeding grounds of fish and affecting the fishing community’s livelihood. Miffed that solid waste was being dumped and even burned on mangroves, the judges pulled up the collector (Raigad), Uran municipality’s chief officer, Cidco and even the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s member-secretary for the three-year delay in identifying a dumping ground for Uran. The AG said that a meeting, chaired by Thackeray, was held on December 9 where decisions were taken. He said steps would be taken to notify the Uran mangroves as reserved forest land. He also informed that the Uran Municipal Corporation (UMC) will float a tender for the “scientific closure” of the dumping site.
“A tender will be issued within 15 days and the work will be completed in 30 days,” the AG said, adding that the state government has paid Rs 5.8 lakh for the closure of the site. The minutes of the meeting recorded that Thackeray directed the UMC “to prepare a restoration plan of the existing Boripakhadi site” of the mangroves in consultation with the forest department. The AG said the UMC will also segregate wet and dry waste as daily eight tons of wet garbage and five tons of dry garbage is generated. The minutes stated that the availability of various government lands with Cidco and the district collector, Raigad, was discussed. However, it was observed that there are limitations, including coastal regulatory zones, airport authority area and nearby water bodies, for identifying and allotting land. It was decided that UMC will utilise Cidco’s solid waste facility at the village Chal in Panvel taluka. The judges took the minutes in recording, saying they would include it in their order. They will take an update on the matter after the Christmas vacation.
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