mumbai since the past 1015 years some powerful builders have quietly entered into development agreements with individuals controlling large swathes of mumbais ecosensitive saltpan lands spread over a humongous 5400 acres successive governments have been trying to open up these sprawling plots for construction this is the next big real estate gold mine in mumbai salt pan act as a natural buffer along mumbais coastline and is part of a contiguous ecosystem which includes estuaries wetlands and mangroves they are free of human habitation and afford the last few tracts of open space and clean air available around the citythere have been a slew of studies showing the effects of global warming in mumbai and its vulnerability to rising sea levels but more appalling are mumbais manmade factors which interfere with the environment the politicianland mafia nexus in mumbai has led to haphazard development destruction of mangroves violation of coastal regulatory zone norms shrinking open space and dereservation of land earmarked as nodevelopment zones claiming land from the sea and mangrovehacking has serious repercussions mangroves natural barriers against the sea some tamil nadu villages were saved by these plants from the 2004 tsunami have been relentlessly destroyed at times with official connivance unfortunately the basic concept of townplanning the raison detre of any city was discarded a long time away by mumbais gatekeepers tuesdays devastating flood was another wake up call