Cost Of Urbanisation: Mumbai Lost 71% Of Its Wetlands In 44 Years, Maximum For Any Indian City

Urbanisation and industrialisation come at the cost of affecting and razing forests and ecosystems.

According to a national study by a non-profit group, Wetlands International South Asia (WISA), Mumbai has lost the maximum number of wetlands among 22 cities in India - 71% between 1970 and 2014.

India Water Portal

According to the study, the wetland loss was a result of the increase in built-up area to 1074 sq km from 149 sq km. ¡°Wetlands in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, are threatened by high level of water pollution and solid waste dumping, combined with developmental threats. Sites are either not properly governed, management plans are missing or exact area demarcation has not been done, which is impacting the wetlands, thereby water security,¡± HT quoted Ritesh Kumar, Director of WISA as saying.

Other cities that lost their wetlands are, Ahmedabad (57%), Bengaluru (56%), Hyderabad (55%), Delhi NCR (38%), and Pune (37%). Analysing published land use and land cover data over 44 years, the study calculated the reduction using satellite images.

ECO Media

The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has identified the current threats to major wetlands in India and is working towards its restoration, which according to the report has been going on for sometime now.

The Bombay High Court (HC) banned reclamation and construction on wetlands, after an environment group filed a petition to protect them in 2014. In September 2017, the MoEFCC notified new Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017, replacing the 2010 version. According to the new rules of industrial development, garbage dumping or discharge of wastewater at wetland sites is disallowed, while derecognising wetlands in coastal regulation zones and salt pans.

Wordpress/Sandrp

However, more conservatory measures need to be taken to take care of these rapidly disappearing wetlands.