The Maharashtra Mangrove Cell has planned to acquire a drone and set up a CCTV camera network across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to keep an eye on mangrove destruction by debris and land mafia. In an online discussion hosted by NGO NatConnect Foundation, Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests, Mangrove Cell, said the consultancy firm, Ernst & Young, would carry out a survey of the vulnerable areas. The NGO has launched a social media campaign #MumbiodiversityBachao focusing on the degradation in the MMR with a social media message: ‘Act today. The NGO has also appealed to Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray to take quick steps to save the environment. “The planning body is yet to hand over the mangroves to the Forest Department despite a three-year-old High Court order,” he said.

Source: The Hindu May 25, 2021 19:41 UTC