Forest Clearance in Kalwa, Thane.

In Maharashtra, large stretches of mangroves on government land have been notified as forest and placed with the Forest Department's Mangrove Cell. Along Kalwa's creek edge, that turns a drain outfall, a pipeline crossing or a road widening into a forest matter: using the land for anything else needs approval under the forest conservation law, with compensatory afforestation and payment of net present value. We read the notification for the affected survey numbers, work out the smallest area the work genuinely needs, and prepare the Parivesh proposal.

Kalwa lies across the creek from central Thane, joined to it by the Kalwa bridges and the railway. It is one of TMC's ward committees, and it is densely lived in: older buildings near the station, chawls, and large settlements climbing the lower slopes of the Parsik hills, with newer buildings on flatter ground. The creek edge on its western side is lined with mangroves, and nalas from the hill run down through the settlements into it. Thane-Belapur Road begins at its southern end. Open ground is scarce, and much of what exists is unplanned.