A.S. OKA, J.

MANGROVES

1. This Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerns the issue of destruction of mangroves in the entire State of Maharashtra. The word "Mangrove" is considered to be a combination of the Portuguese word "Mangue" and the English word "grove". Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. The specific regions where these plants occur are termed as 'mangrove ecosystem'. These are highly productive but extremely sensitive and fragile. It is said about the mangroves that they are living life on the edge, with one foot on land and one in the sea. They survive in a harsh environment, adapting well to the scorching heat, deep mud and saltwater that would otherwise kill other plants. Yet they are tenacious and very useful for the environment. The occasion for filing the main PIL is that the importance of very tenacious mangroves for the benefit of the mankind is ignored and mangroves are being destructed in the State on a very large scale.

FACTUAL ASPECTS AND PRAYERS IN PIL 87 OF 2006

2. The first petitioner is a society registered under the Societies' Registration Act, 1860. It is the case of the first petitioner that it is committed to protection and preservation of environment. It is pointed out that the State of Maharashtra has a coastline of 720 kilometers which is indented by numerous rivers, estuaries, creeks, small bays, rocky shores and muddy beaches. It is pointed out in the petition that there are 18 major estuaries along with coastline of Maharashtra harboring some of the biologically richest patches of mangroves along the entire western coast of India. It is stated that there are 52 creeks in the State along the coast which are covered by mangroves. The petitioners have relied upon a map annexed at Exhibit-A which is titled as “Mangroves Status 1997” which is said to be a satellite image of coast of Greater Mumbai in the year 1997. Basically, the petition is filed for inviting attention of the Court to the large scale destruction or denudation of mangroves. The petition seeks a declaration that the areas covered by mangroves in the State of Maharashtra in addition to those covered by mangroves forest should be declared as mangroves protection area.

3. In paragraph (i)4 of the petition, mangroves have been described. Paragraph (i)4 reads thus :-

“(i) What are 'mangroves'?

4. Mangroves are intertidal (growing between the high tide and low tide line) evergreen forests growing on the soft marshy lands of a creek, estuary or a bay in the tropical and sub tropical regions. The expression 'mangrove' does not apply to a single species of plants, but to a complete ecosystem which is a conglomeration of several species of flora, fauna and biotic features in an area, and their interaction with each other. Mangroves are a peculiar habitat because they are found on the boundary between the land and the sea. They are found almost entirely in the tropical and sub tropical regions, that is, between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south latitude, and are an extension of the tropical rain forests towards the sea. They are found largely in the estuarine regions where a river meets the sea, the intertidal regions of shallow bays and creeks. As extensions of the tropical rainforests in to the sea, mangroves are functionally as important as the tropical rain-forests. Moreover, they are additionally important for the protection of the seashores from erosion, wave action, high-winds and cyclones. Mangroves being intertidal forests are equal to tropical forests, however their importance is not merely in their forest value but due to their strategic location between the land and the sea. Mangroves are the life line of any coastal area and perform invaluable protective functions for the environment. The importance of mangroves is set out below:”

(emphasis added)

4. The petition sets out the functions and importance of mangroves which can be briefly summarized as under :-

[A] The