No Housing Complexes On Salt Pan Lands
According to a report, the Maharashtra government had given a thumps-up to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to develop affordable houses in Mumbai on salt pan lands. The salt pans of Mulund, too, were chalked out for the construction of economical housing colonies. However, environmentalists have raised objections on construction on salt pan lands citing threats of environment imbalance causing natural calamities like Tsunami in Mumbai and its suburbs. Fortunately, the government has realized its folly and has abandoned the project of housing complexes on salt pan lands.
It may be recalled, recently, the government made revisions in the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) rules in 2017 to acquire salt pans for its ambitious low-cost housing project. According to the final draft of the DP 2034 Plan, around 2,100 hectares of salt pan lands have been demarcated for the construction of one million affordable housing units. Mulund’s salt pan on the Eastern Express Highway has also been proposed for the housing complex. However, several environmentalists have expressed fear and urged the government to take back its decision, highlighting the ill-effects of construction work on salt pan lands.
Informing about the horrors of construction on salt pan lands, an environmentalist said, “The salt pans on Eastern Express Highway are 8 to 10 feet deep. Hence, they are nature’s excellent storehouse to accumulate gallons of water during monsoon. Thus, for construction of houses if these salt pans are filled 10 to 12 feet with concrete, then the repercussions would be horrendous!
During monsoon, Mulund and its suburbs would be flooded and water would penetrate in houses as was witnessed in the Chennai flood in 2015!! In case Mulund gets incessant rains then there is the fear of entire Mulund being underwater!!
Fortunately, the cries and appeals of the environmentalists have been heard by the chief officials of MMRDA and the company has decided to drop the idea of building housing complexes on the salt pan lands. Now, the Mulund salt pan land and the other salt pan lands of Mumbai have been declared as Wetlands and allowed to indulge in the production of salt!
Mulundkars can take a sigh of relief as the fear of Mulund being swept by a Tsunami is over!
An environmentalist said, “Since Mulund is located close to the sea hence the idea of the construction of housing complexes over salt pan land is against nature’s law. Besides, from the health point of view, Mulund desperately needs more trees and open space. It is incorrect to make construction on land just because it is lying vacant. Remember to build houses at the cost of environment is not only hazardous to the environment but it dangerous to mankind.”
