Which district has the largest share of unprotected mangroves in Maharashtra?

Palghar district has the single largest share of unprotected mangroves, with 4,712.43 hectares, followed by Raigad with 4,481.77 hectares and Ratnagiri with 1,159.44 hectares.

How are mangroves in Maharashtra being threatened?

The lack of legal protection for the 11,000 hectares of unprotected mangrove land has left them vulnerable to destruction, with continued incidents of debris dumping, encroachments, and landfilling for development projects. The high court's mangrove monitoring committee has received 694 complaints of mangrove destruction across the state.

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Mangrove Mayhem: 11,000 Hectares Remain Unprotected in Maharashtra

Q: What is the status of mangrove protection in Maharashtra?

Despite a 2018 Bombay High Court ruling declaring all mangrove land in Maharashtra as 'protected forest', over 11,000 hectares of mangrove land across seven districts in the Konkan region, including Mumbai, are yet to be transferred to the state forest department, leaving them unprotected.

23 Aug

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Summary

11,000 hectares of mangrove land in Maharashtra yet to be transferred to forest department
Palghar district has the largest share of unprotected mangroves at 4,712 hectares
Mangrove destruction continues due to lack of legal protection

Mangrove Mayhem: 11,000 Hectares Remain Unprotected in Maharashtra

As of August 2025, a significant portion of Maharashtra's mangrove forests remains unprotected, despite a 2018 Bombay High Court ruling that declared all mangrove land in the state as 'protected forest'. According to data obtained by environmental NGO Vanashakti, over 11,000 hectares of mangrove land across seven districts in the Konkan region, including Mumbai, are yet to be transferred to the state forest department.

The largest share of this unprotected land, 4,712.43 hectares, is located in Palghar district, followed by Raigad with 4,481.77 hectares, Ratnagiri with 1,159.44 hectares, and Thane with 447.68 hectares. Much of this eco-sensitive land is owned by government agencies, which have failed to surrender it to the state mangrove cell, preventing it from being formally notified as 'protected forest'.

Activists warn that this legal limbo leaves the mangroves vulnerable to destruction, as government bodies can still obtain permissions to build projects on these lands. Mangrove destruction continues unabated, with the high court's mangrove monitoring committee receiving 694 complaints of mangrove destruction across the state, of which only 469 have been resolved.

Environmental groups argue that demarcating mangrove land in development plans and vesting ownership with the state mangrove cell are crucial steps to ensure the long-term protection of these vital coastal ecosystems.

Disclaimer: This story has been auto-aggregated and auto-summarised by a computer program. This story has not been edited or created by the Feedzop team.