Uran

Dastan Phata wetland

Navi Mumbai airport

The place attracted birds like little grebe, western reef heron, Asian openbill and woolly-necked stork, comb duck, lesser whistling duck, cotton teal and Brahminy kite. In January and February this year, a court-appointed panel asked JNPT to stop reclamation, but in vain

Bombay Natural History Society

Recently, a Shivaji statue near the site was red-flagged for lacking approvals. Activists say while the statue stands, the wetland is gone

Dastan Phata wetland, about 55 km from Mumbai, drew a variety of birds, offering stunning views. The place has been levelled with dirt and debris to facilitate construction of homes for project-affected persons.A wetland habitat inthat drew a variety of birds, offering stunning views, has been completely flattened with dirt and debris, despite the Bombay High Court’s order that such places should be left alone and intact.Environmentalists, who have seen the destruction over a six-month period, accused the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) of carrying out illegal reclamation at the, which is spread over 400 acres near the site of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The port trust plans to build homes for Project-Affected Persons (PAP) there.Eco-activist D Stalin, a member of a high court-appointed conservation committee for wetlands and mangroves, said the panel had clearly instructed the port trust to stop reclamation activities. “Directions were issued at the committee’s meetings in January and February, but JNPT officials still went ahead. We will now press for action against them,” said Stalin, who heads the NGO Vanashakti.BN Kumar, the director of Nature Connect, said a huge biodiversity area had been lost. “We are shocked and heartbroken,” he said. Nandakumar Pawar of Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP), a nonprofit, said he and Kumar wrote a series of complaints and appeals to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, urging them to save the Dastan Phata wetland. “Only six months ago, the place was full of birds. Now, the birds and the beauty are gone,” Pawar said. “We dread to think what will happen when theis commissioned.”Last month, Fadnavis and Gadkari had inaugurated a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj near the wetland. Pawar said his enquiries through RTI had revealed that the statue had been built without necessary permissions. Uran sub-divisional officer Dattatreya Navale stopped further work as it violated the high court’s order.“But while the structure still stands, the 400-acre wetland is dead,” Pawar said. Through reclamation, JNPT is creating new plots at Dastan Phata to accommodate homes for people who gave up their land for the port’s development. Mirror sent an email detailing the environmentalists’ allegations to an JNPT spokesman, but there was no response.A report by theon the impact of the proposed Navi Mumbai airport had explained the wetland’s importance as a haven for birds. It said the place and the area near the airport site attracted birds such as little grebe, western reef heron, Asian openbill, woollynecked stork, comb duck, lesser whistling duck, cotton teal, Brahminy kite, common snipe, curlew sandpiper and ruff.“A number of potential habitats of birds and other animals have been destroyed due to rapid development and change in the land-use pattern in Navi Mumbai and the adjoining areas in Raigad district, especially due to projects such as the proposed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Navi Mumbai International Airport and the expansion of JNPT,” the report stated.Konkan divisional commissioner Jagdish Patil said he had received a complaint about the reclamation carried out by JNPT. “I have asked Raigad’s district collector to investigate and submit a report. If work was done without permission, action will be taken,” he said.