The Panje-Dongri wetlands is located in the coastal town of Uran, Navi Mumbai in Raigad district of Maharashtra in India. It is a major bird watching site in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The wetland is home to 1.4 lakhs migratory birds in the winter. It is the last surviving wetland at Uran. The core wetland area at Panje covers 213 hectares and consists of foraging and roosting areas of several bird species. The buffer area of 157 hectares is mangroves. Panje consists of a mix of habitats including freshwater and saline marshes, reeds, mangroves, grasslands and scrub — make it a fine birding place. The Panje wetlands are notified and protected under the Maharashtra National Wetland Atlas 2011. In 2015, The State Wildlife Board approved the creation of a bird sanctuary at Panje-Funde near Uran. A film documenting the flora and fauna of this wetland was made by Aishwarya Sridhar-a young wildlife film maker. The film is called Panje-The Last Wetland.
Panje wetland is rich in terms of fish catch. The Uran wetlands serve as a fish breeding ground and the main livelihood of the local people is fishing.
Controversy
Around 85% of Uran’s wetlands have been destroyed. Recurring cases of mangrove destruction and reclamation of wetlands have happened at Uran. Recently illegal landfills are on the rise and the wetlands are being slowly assimilated in the coastal city. This unprecedented land development and urbanization are creating concerns about the impact on the environment. This is because the wetlands serve as a natural sponge absorbing excess rainfall and doing its bit to reduce pollution. Wetlands are under threat due to exponential expansion of real-estate projects in Mumbai Now a day, land encroachment and land alteration are the important aspect of threats for Panje wetlands and the Bombay Natural History Society had also published a report stating the protection of Panje wetlands due to its proximity to the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The wetland is a part of the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone and in the entire wetland a boundary has been created by NMSEZ. In September 2018, City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra shut the high tide water ingress to the Panje Wetlands. The barrier was built in the year 1991 with help from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay as a flood control mechanism. It shuts automatically during high tide and opens up during low tide, remaining closed throughout the months of monsoon. However, in the last week of September, some gates were damaged and the barrier was shut down, starving water supply into the mangroves. Around 60% of the Panje wetlands dried up. Navi Mumbai residents and environmentalists filed a complaint with the state highlighting CIDCO’s actions. This led to the HC appointed state mangrove committee to issue directions to stop reclamation activities at Uran to protect bird habitats. On October 6, 2018, CIDCO opened 10 out of the 76 sluice gates. But environmentalists complained it wasn’t enough to sustain the wetland. Vanashakti filed a contempt petition against Cidco under its original petition to safeguard wetlands in Maharashtra. On October 10, 2018, a day before the Bombay High Court appointed wetland grievance redressal committee was to hear the matter, Cidco vice chairman and managing director instructed his engineering team to open majority of the gates at Panje. Of 76 gates, 70 opened by Cidco, and the wetland, mangroves and holding pond area were partially restored. Today, Panje is the last surviving wetland of Uran.
