Controversy over Mumbai’s salt pans: why do these lands matter?

What are salt pan lands?

They comprise parcels of low-lying lands where seawater flows in at certain times, and leaves behind salt and other minerals. Along with Mumbai’s mangroves (also at risk due to development), this ecosystem is instrumental in protecting the city from flooding.

According to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 2011, the ecologically sensitive salt pans fall under CRZ-1B category, where no economic activity is allowed with the exception of salt extraction and natural gas exploration.

The tussle over salt pans encompasses a Centre vs state element, and an environment vs utility angle in a land-starved city which is bursting at the seams. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

In all, 5,378 acres of land in Mumbai have been designated as salt pan lands, approximately nine times the size of the Dharavi slum. About 31% of this land is located in residential and commercial belts, and roughly 480 acres are encroached upon, a 2014 study by the state government found. The same study found that about 1,672 acres of Mumbai’s more than 5,000 acres of salt pan lands are “developable”.

Nationally, some 60,000 acres have been demarcated as salt pan lands, spread across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh (20,716 acres) boasts the largest expanse of such land, followed by Tamil Nadu (17,095 acres) and Maharashtra (12,662 acres).

Why are Mumbai’s salt pan lands at risk?

Land is at a premium in Mumbai. Salt pans are among the last “undeveloped” parcels of land, thus far protected by the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the stringent CRZ norms. But this has not stopped state governments from trying to acquire these lands from the Centre, for various development projects.

Chief among these has been the development of low-cost housing for Mumbai’s slum-dwellers, a part of former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s plan to create a “slum-free Mumbai”.

The MMRDA has sought approximately 15 hectares of salt pan land in Kanjurmarg for the construction of an elevated Metro Line 6 depot. (Express Photo by Nirmal Harindran)

In 2015, Fadnavis zeroed in on 400 acres of salt pan land along the Eastern Express highway in Mulund to relocate slums under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme. The state government also planned to use much of the remaining 5,000 acres of salt pan land for affordable housing.

However, Fadnavis’s plans were put on hold after Uddhav Thackeray became chief minister in 2019. But the Thackeray government too set its eyes on a 102-acre salt pan land in Kanjurmarg in 2020 as an alternative location for the metro car shed originally set to be built in the green belt of Aarey. This development is currently paused — the matter is pending before the Bombay High Court.

Current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s rebellion in 2022 caused a split in the Shiv Sena, threw Uddhav out of power, and brought Fadnavis back to the driving seat in Maharashtra. The Mahayuti government proposed building affordable housing for Dharavi slum dwellers under the DRPPL on the Wadala salt pan land.

Why do salt pans matter?

Environmentalist Stalin D, director of NGO Vanashakti, said that construction over salt pan lands will result in flooding in Mumbai’s eastern suburbs.

“Salt pans are situated in low-lying areas, and water received during heavy rain gets accumulated here. Water from Thane creek also flows in during high tide and gets collected in the salt pans, preventing flooding in the eastern suburbs. If the salt pans are covered owing to construction, areas like Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, and Bhandup will definitely go underwater during heavy rain,” Stalin said.

Environmentalist and Conservation Action Trust chief Debi Goenka said it is the salt pans that made things relatively better for the eastern suburbs (as compared to the western ones) during the July 2005 deluge, when 944 mm of rainfall in a single day caused widespread loss of lives and damage to infrastructure.

Goenka said: “On the one hand, the government’s Mumbai Climate Action Plan acknowledges the threats of climate change in Mumbai, but on the other hand, the Centre and state governments are aiming to make buildings in an area which prevents flooding in the city.”

Salt pans, which, along with the mangroves, stop the city from flooding, also host various species of birds and insects. Goenka said Mumbai’s Development Plan 2034 ignores sustainability, but also exhibits complete disregard for the flora and fauna that will be impacted.

Goenka also questioned the quality of life for the relocated slum-dwellers who will be moved to these low-lying lands. “What quality of life will they have in an area that will submerge every year? How is this affordable housing? The cost of filling land, building a foundation, corrosion and water proofing, among many other measures to make the land suitable for habitation, in fact, makes this project extremely expensive,” he said.