Environmentalists in Navi Mumbai advocate for greener cities and better forest management ahead of International Day of Forests 2025 | File Photo
Navi Mumbai: Navi Mumbai environmentalists have launched a campaign ahead of the International Day of Forests, focusing on improving the green cover, checking the frequent forest fires and relook at the lopsided compensatory afforestation policy.
“The message to be promoted – ‘every tree counts’ It is high time that we took a comprehensive look at forest management and crating pockets of urban forests in view of the climate change which is real and from which no one can escape,” said NatConnect Foundation which initiated the drive along with Kharghar Hills and Wetlands and Save Belapur Hills forums.
These fires are not mere accidents, but they appear to be deliberate by vested interests, said a local activist Krishnan Potti.
Concurring with this, Kharghar-based activist Jyoti Nadkarni said the alert residents in the node have raised fire alarms at least 25 times since November. It is highly disturbing even as the government talks of afforestation and improving the hill people’s economy, she pointed out.
The Belapur Hills deforestation for constructing a series of illegal temples on the slopes has assumed alarming proportions and the soil has become loose, threatening landslide dangers, said Himanshu Katkar of Save Belapur Hill.
“Now we get to see frequent forest fires on the hills,” he said. Over the past five months there have been at least 10incidents fires about which the local residents have alerted the fire brigade, the police apart from the forest department, he said.
Pointing out that Forests and Food is this year’s theme of the UN-driven annual event, NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar said it is important to sustain the forests and improve their food yield.
Kumar appealed to State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik to have a relook at the lopsided compensatory afforestation policy. The compensatory planting is done today miles away from the area where the trees, including the mangroves, are destroyed.
In this context, said Nadkarni, that the compensatory plantation for the destruction of trees for the Kharghar-Turbhe road is being done in Uran. The compensation must be done in the same area where the destruction takes place, the activists said.
They also called for focusing on only native, fruit-bearing trees during the afforestation as well as plantation in open spaces in the upcoming redevelopment projects.
Forests are the lungs of our planet, and every tree counts in our collective fight for a greener, healthier future, said Rekha Sankhala of Save Flamingos and Mangroves forum.
The Watchdog Foundation called for removing the concrete from the tree bases and allowing the water to seep in. For instance, the civic officials in Andheri East have heard us and began clearing the concrete, but much more needs to be done, advocate Godfrey Pimenta said.
