CRZ norms flouted on Island
On behalf of Watchdog Foundation lawyer Godfrey Pimenta then wrote to the Raigad Collector and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board in June 2018 saying, “By marking the said island as CRZ-II (Urban), you will be opening them for development and turn them into a concrete jungle. The environmental destruction has to be stopped or it will ruin this great island.”
And, almost all environmentalists studying the zone are unanimous in their suggestion that Gharapuri Island needs to be preserved as an open space and kept away from any development. The Island should ideally be marked as CRZ-III (Open Space Area/Rural) and all construction activities on the island be banned. Also, the documentation of mangroves around the island must be undertaken and requisite steps taken by way of ensuring prevention of ‘development’ to prevent damage to an already-fragile eco-zone.
So, soon after the CRZ maps were released in May 2018, in the very next month, the Maharashtra government announced a collaboration with Airbnb, the American community-driven hospitality company, to start home-stay facilities at Elephanta Island.
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) with Airbnb identified several places around Shetbunder village on the island as potential home-stay locations. According to plans, the villagers were to be trained by Airbnb to provide quality home service to rent-seeking tourists.
Needless to say, the Airbnb project has been stalled as is the case with most tourism projects undertaken by MTDC in the state whose potential for tourism is thwarted with preposterous regularity by the corporation’s dismal approach towards the industry, its stake-holders and associated variables.
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| Unless stopped, the environmental destruction will ruin Elephanta Island |
And, almost all environmentalists studying the zone are unanimous in their suggestion that Gharapuri Island needs to be preserved as an open space and kept away from any development. The Island should ideally be marked as CRZ-III (Open Space Area/Rural) and all construction activities on the island be banned. Also, the documentation of mangroves around the island must be undertaken and requisite steps taken by way of ensuring prevention of ‘development’ to prevent damage to an already-fragile eco-zone.
So, soon after the CRZ maps were released in May 2018, in the very next month, the Maharashtra government announced a collaboration with Airbnb, the American community-driven hospitality company, to start home-stay facilities at Elephanta Island.
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) with Airbnb identified several places around Shetbunder village on the island as potential home-stay locations. According to plans, the villagers were to be trained by Airbnb to provide quality home service to rent-seeking tourists.
Needless to say, the Airbnb project has been stalled as is the case with most tourism projects undertaken by MTDC in the state whose potential for tourism is thwarted with preposterous regularity by the corporation’s dismal approach towards the industry, its stake-holders and associated variables.
This report has been prepared for DraftCraft International’s Flagship Initiative, The Elephanta Island Project to research, analyse and determine the rights and liabilities of Islanders, local and foreign tourists vis-a-vis the responsibility of the State towards all stakeholders and natural resources while upholding the law of the land and ensuring the protection of environment that tops the list of priorities. The initiative examines laws and policies regarding islands, sea transport, privacy, women’s rights, health, protection of the environment and rights and liabilities of tourists guaranteed to all by the State in context of the Right To Equality, Freedoms, The Right to Life and Global Conventions to which India is a signatory.
