- An arm of the Malad creek that comes towards Versova has a mouth just 15 m wide. But it feeds a huge tract of mangrove land. Activists have alerted authorities about illegal dumping here. If the mouth is closed, the mangroves will die and the land will be available to builders.
- Two liquor dens run deep under mangrove cover, each using about 300 kg of plants as fuel everyday. Says Pravin Chaudhary, secretary, The Mangrove Society of India: "We've sent letters to the BMC and the collector's office but haven't heard from either."
- The villagers of Versova have dredged a part of the sea to make parking space for about 30 fishing trawlers.
- Two years ago, the BMC cleared two acres of mangroves for a garbage transit area.
- In Survey 161 of Versova, all 68 acres of mangrove cover have been allotted to building societies and over half the construction is already done. The Prachi colony houses retired and working HC judges. Another society, Vigyan Sheela, has famous residents including Sanjay Ubale, personal secretary to CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, and Uttam Khobragade, vice-chairman of the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA). Vanshree, ironically, houses forest department officials. The 47 buildings that came up here well after the SC order were allotted to well-placed government officials. Hari Prasad Chaurasia's new gurukul stands here, Hema Malini has been allotted a plot, as also the Film Artistes' Association. The most prominent building here is the Rajiv Gandhi Engineering and Educational Complex, built in '99 and run by the Manjara Charitable Trust headed by Diliprao Deshmukh, the CM's brother. Some more land is also to be cleared for a private hospital.
- Further north, at Charkop in Kandivali, ex-mayor Hareshwar Patil has supported the development of a 5,000-hut slum colony amidst the mangroves. Chaudhary alleges that this benefits the slum lord-local politician nexus. Patil also has a hotel, Chef, which lies mostly on mangrove land.
The Cement Coast
Despite the SC verdict, rampant construction plays havoc with the city's vital mangrove cover
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The Cement Coast
The Cement Coast
