MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday released the draft Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) management plan for Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) -- a document that recommends restrictions to protect the 103 sq kilometre green lung, but activists fear it could double up as a backdoor entry for industries and the real estate sector.
While the draft warns of "significant pressure on the environment" and places slums, quarries, and ready-mix plants on its watchlist, it also creates three graded zones that, critics argue, leave ample scope for industries and new establishments to come up.
Slums recommended for relocation
According to the plan, nearly 184.51 hectares of slums spread across Mumbai, Thane, and Mira-Bhayandar fall within the ESZ. It recommends a comprehensive survey to identify eligible households for rehabilitation, preferably in-situ, though relocation outside the ESZ has been proposed where necessary. Expansion of encroachments was explicitly barred. In Mumbai, affected pockets include Mulund, Bhandup, Borivali, Dahisar, Magathane, Andheri, and Goregaon.
The draft highlights ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants and construction-linked industries as major polluters. Two RMC units, at Dahisar's Kokani pada and partially within the ESZ at Jogeshwari (East), were flagged. In Thane, 13 construction-related industries face action, while five factories in Vasai-Virar, including an ice plant, were identified for polluting the eco-zone. These units must either adopt strict pollution-control measures or relocate.
What's allowed, what's banned
The plan divides the zone into three categories:
ESZ-1 (Settlement Zone): Allows planned residential and commercial development while banning new polluting industries, mining, and power plants. Existing wood-based units may continue. Discharge of untreated waste into water bodies will attract penalties. Authorities propose eco-friendly measures such as organic farming, agro-forestry, rainwater harvesting, skill development, and cottage industries.
ESZ-2: Permits repairs and reconstruction of existing village housing and certain new projects, but only with a detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP) approved by a monitoring committee. Projects like schools, hospitals, religious places, and hotels will require EMP clearance. Large commercial complexes, deforestation, new industries, waste dumping, and unchecked urbanisation are prohibited.
ESZ-3: Declared the most fragile, covering mangroves and CRZ-1 areas. All construction, reclamation, agriculture, and aquaculture are barred. Only regulated activities such as tribal infrastructure, eco-tourism, and wildlife corridors may be considered with prior approval. A 10-metre green buffer was also proposed along the park boundary.
The draft also floats ideas such as eco-friendly business tourism to involve local communities and promote conservation. "We have published this draft for suggestions and objections. After reviewing the feedback, it will be submitted to the state govt for final approval," said Sanjay Rathod, Chief Engineer, BMC development plan department.
Activists cry foul
Environmental activist Stalin D criticised the draft eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) plan, dismissing it as "greenwashing." Though the notification claims to promote ecological conservation, Stalin argues that it offers no meaningful safeguards. "Environmentally harmful practices such as land pre-filling are not banned outright but merely regulated, leaving room for permissions and exceptions," he said.
He further points out that the notification hands sweeping powers to the BMC while sidelining the forest department, even in areas directly overlapping with the national park. "The forest department, which should be the custodian of SGNP, has been completely removed from the decision-making process," he said.