Salt pans around Mumbai soon to be gobbled up

Mumbai politicians are all set to get about 5500 acres of salt pan land released in connivance with the builders lobby for development as real estate. Mumbai is surrounded by thousands of acres of salt pans and mangroves and any development work results in destroying the mangroves. During monsoon months, these salt pans are flooded by rain water and serve as natural reservoirs.

These areas are leased out by the government to a few families for use as salt pans and lack of space for housing made these salt pans as potential for real estate development. Powerful builders-politicians lobby is working to get these areas released from the protection of eco-sensitive stringent Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), which prohibits any construction close to creeks, mangroves and the high tide line. Mumbai has seen worst floods in the recent years.

Geologists are of the opinion that the salt pan plots are not suitable for reclamation since the soil in these mudflats is weakened by the continuous production of salt over the years. Any construction over these lands will need very deep foundations. Mass housing projects are likely to come up.

In spite of the resistance from some NGOs, the government (salt department) is likely to fall in line with the builders lobby and the city will loose its much open flat space encircling the city. It will be an environmental disaster.