They want the MPCB to go beyond filing reports or ensuring cleaning of the area and penalize the agencies responsible.
The spill was caused as an old pipeline carrying furnace oil from the sea to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) refinery had been leaking for more than two months. The leak came to light when local fishermen reported the spill and damage to about five acres-at a very conservative estimate-of mangroves to the police and the MPCB on November 6.
Preliminary investigation shows that all mangroves in the five acres around the creek are permanently destroyed and a thick layer of oil has settled on the sand and water.
The clean-up may have started, but the spill is likely to spread further with wave and tidal action, causing long-term damage to saplings, said experts. They said the MPCB ought to take more stringent action against the agencies involved as they not only caused the damage but also did not report it.
"The drill followed now will be the same [as always]," Stalin D from the NGO Vanashakti said. "A cleaning directive will now be issued and, after the investigation, the MPCB will file a report that will stay in the files. But considering the damage these spills cause to the environment, strong action needs to be taken."
Stalin said that the "polluter's pays" principle should be applied and the agency responsible for the maintenance and transportation of the oil be made to pay for the restoration of the wetlands.
Local fishermen are staring at a loss of livelihood as their catch is likely to be polluted.
"The nets are spoiled by the oil and the fishermen who tried to go into the water felt irritation on the skin," local corporator Seema Mahulkar said.
Saying there had to be better monitoring and accountability, Mahulkar and the fishermen filed a complaint with the police as well as the MPCB. "The spill is very big. It is being acted upon only because we complained. Who would have monitored and reported it otherwise?" asked Mahulkar.
N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell, said his office had filed a preliminary offence report. "The report doesn't name any offender as we are still to collect evidence, but it is a prelude to filing an offence case in court under the Indian Forest Act," he said.
The MPCB regional officer RR Vasave said that they have asked MbPT for a clean up and the supply from the leaking pipe has been stopped. "We are hoping that since the oil is thicker in density it won't spread too far," Vasave said.
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