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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Panje wetland moves closer to legal protection

Navi Mumbai: The 289-hectare Panje-Dongari wetland in Uran, regarded by environmentalists as Maharashtra’s largest intertidal wetland, has moved a significant step closer to securing legal protection after the Raigad district administration completed a long-awaited ground verification process, environmental groups said. The development is being seen as a major milestone in the years-long campaign by conservationists to protect the ecologically sensitive wetland from reclamation and...

Panje wetland moves closer to legal protection

Navi Mumbai: The 289-hectare Panje-Dongari wetland in Uran, regarded by environmentalists as Maharashtra’s largest intertidal wetland, has moved a significant step closer to securing legal protection after the Raigad district administration completed a long-awaited ground verification process, environmental groups said. The development is being seen as a major milestone in the years-long campaign by conservationists to protect the ecologically sensitive wetland from reclamation and infrastructure-related pressures. The verification is part of the process required before wetlands can be formally notified under the Environment (Protection) Act. According to the NatConnect Foundation, the verification follows documentation by the Chennai-based National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), which has completed the ground-truthing of nearly all the 23,000 wetlands identified across Maharashtra under the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA), prepared using 2006-07 satellite imagery. Environmentalists have repeatedly criticised the delay in completing the verification and notification process in the state. Rising Hopes A senior official of the State Wetland Authority, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Raigad Collector has cleared 11 of the 19 wetlands documented by NCSCM in the district, including the Panje wetland. The wetlands at Belpada and Bhendkhal have also reportedly progressed towards notification, raising hopes for their long-term conservation. The list approved by the Collector also includes wetlands in Panvel taluka at Kharghar, Taloja, Kharghar Sector 25, Kalamboli, Sinkar and Morave. However, government officials said wetlands at Sheva, Jaskhar, Murud Creek and the Mangrove Wetland Complex do not feature in the Collector’s current documents, leaving questions over their status. The Panje wetland has been at the centre of a prolonged legal and environmental battle. The Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) founder and noted environmentalist Debi Goenka had earlier demonstrated, using the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment maps, that Panje qualified as a wetland despite claims to the contrary. “BEAG founder and noted environmentalist Debi Goenka was among the first to demonstrate, using the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA) maps, that Panje qualified as a wetland despite claims to the contrary. His painstaking interpretation of the colour-coded satellite atlas greatly strengthened our case for Panje’s conservation,” said B N Kumar, Director, NatConnect Foundation. Happy Activists Welcoming the latest development, Nandakumar Pawar, Director of Sagar Shakti, who has led a prolonged legal battle to protect the wetland, said, “The 289-hectare Panje wetland is the largest intertidal wetland in the state. Its conservation is critical for protecting Uran’s fragile ecology.” Kumar described the verification as a vindication of sustained public efforts. “Panje has shown that persistence pays,” he said, while Pawar added that the focus must now shift towards securing legal protection for all of Maharashtra’s 23,000 mapped wetlands before they are lost to encroachment and development. Pawar warned that the destruction and reclamation of several wetlands in Uran, including the four-kilometre Jasai stretch, have already aggravated flooding in surrounding villages. He said extensive landfilling for the Dronagiri Node and other infrastructure projects has further worsened the ecological situation. The Collector’s report assumes significance amid continued opposition from CIDCO, which has maintained that several of these areas are former salt pans or agricultural land and are therefore suitable for development. Environmental groups, however, argue that irrespective of their historical land use, these ecosystems now perform critical ecological functions and deserve statutory protection. According to Kumar, although Panje—currently leased to NMSEZ, now NMIIA—has remained free from construction activity, the regular obstruction of tidal water flow causes the wetland to dry up periodically, threatening its ecological health. Environmental organisations including Vanashakti, Sagar Shakti, NatConnect Foundation, Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society, Save Navi Mumbai Environment and Kharghar Wetlands & Hills Forum have been pursuing legal and administrative interventions to secure protection for the wetlands. Highlighting their ecological importance, Pawar said wetlands not only support rich biodiversity but also serve as natural flood buffers, store significant amounts of carbon and sustain the livelihoods of traditional fishing communities. He stressed that notifying these wetlands is essential for strengthening the climate resilience of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Exploiting waterways to progress

Mumbai: Leveraging on the Centre’s thrust for milking inland and coastal waterways for transport, Mumbai has started taking small steps with big and small speedboats and large vessels to ferry both passengers, vehicles and small cargo to various destinations.

 

In the past few years, the government has introduced shore-to-shore ferry boats across creeks, coasts in and around the city, which have grown in popularity with locals, commuters and tourists for their convenience, time-and-fuel savings and the novel thrill of ‘sailing’ short distances.

 

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari have been staunch advocates of water transport while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on port-led development comprising ports modernization, enhanced connectivity, port-linked industrialization, and coastal community development.

 

In Mumbai, some ferries – passengers, Ro-Ro, or both - are operated by government agencies, a handful by local cooperatives and a few by private operators

 

The Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) have especially gained popularity among the tourist crowds thronging to destinations like Mandwa (mainland at Raigad), Elephanta Islands, Gorai, Madh Island and Uttan beaches, Arnala and Vasai forts, boosting tourism and creating job avenues for the locals.

 

The traditional routes like Ferry Wharf (Bhaucha Dhakka, near Mazgaon) and Gateway of India to Mandwa (@ 25 kms from Alibaug town) or Elephanta Islands; Borivali to Gorai; Marve to Manori; have been ‘upgraded’ with Ro-Ro vessels.

 

On the major routes, there are huge ferries with large capacity to carry heavy and small vehicles and sport air-conditioned decks, as also the recently introduced Bhayander to Vasai and Naigaon, proving extremely popular.

 

“For people like me, the road and ferry options are equally comfortable. It takes roughly 45 minutes (Gateway of India) 90 minutes (Bhaucha Dhakka) one-way. If I take the ferry with my car, I avoid the traffic hassles,” a resident of Alibaug, Adv. Surendra Dhavale told The Perfect Voice.

 

Hundreds of people living or studying on the mainland, or on the small isles like Panju Island, or across the creeks, daily ‘commute’ to work in Mumbai via the ferry options.

 

A marketing executive Rajendra Patil from a hamlet in the coastal Naigaon routinely hops onto a ferry to catch the local trains from Bhayander “to avoid the Virar-Bhayander crush” especially during summers.

 

The waterways are proving quite economical compared with autorickshaws or even private vehicles considering the spiralling fuel prices.

 

A consultant from Dahisar, Kishore Gowale said that he takes his family via ferries to Arnala or Gorai for short outings or weekend picnics, far more convenient than a few years ago when the logistics bogged down such travel plans.

 

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