Summary:
MUMBAI: The Supreme Court has directed the state government to put in place a 10km eco-sensitive buffer around the Thane creek flamingo sanctuary that is spread over 16.9 sq km. The flamingo sanctuary was proposed as one of the mitigation measures for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link and was first notified in 2015. "However, ESZ proposals for 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries were still to reach the Centre. The SC will hear the matter next in February.Until November, the Centre had issued notifications for ESZs around 289 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries across the country. On the western side of the Thane creek, the sanctuary extends across Mulund (143 hectares), Bhandup (95 ha), Kanjurmarg (265 ha), Vikhroli (257 ha) and Mandale (31 ha)..