Panje-Dongri wetlands

The area is home to large numbers of coconut trees and mangroves. It is also the foraging and roosting area for several bird species like lesser sand plover, curlew sandpiper, little stint, gull-billed tern, brown-headed gull,[5] black-headed gull, Heuglin's gull, blue-tailed bee-eater, lesser flamingo, greater flamingo, purple moorhen, Eurasian curlew, ruddy shelduck, common shelduck, Eurasian coot, spot-billed bucks, pheasant-tailed jacana, bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, ruff, marsh sandpipers,[10] scaly-breasted munia, tricoloured munia, red avadavat, Indian skimmer, the Asian desert warbler, the bristled grassbird, Caspian plover[6] and many more. Also, one can see as many as 800-900 flamingoes at Panje coastal village during the months of October–March.[11]

Last year, two rare wetland birds of the species red-necked phalarope were seen at Panje after a gap of 15 years.[12]

Mammals found here include Indian grey mongoose, gerbil, jungle cat, Indian fox and Indian jackal.

Reptiles found are common rat snake, Indian cobra, checkered keelback, buff striped keelback, rock python, common krait, Russell's viper and saw scaled viper.

Panje wetland is rich in terms of fish catch. The Uran wetlands serve as a fish breeding ground and the main livelihood of the local people is fishing.[13]

Panje Wetlands

Around 85% of Uran’s wetlands have been destroyed.[12] Recurring cases of mangrove destruction (9500 trees) and reclamation of wetlands have happened at Uran. Recently illegal landfills are on the rise and the wetlands are being slowly assimilated in the coastal city. This unprecedented land development and urbanization are creating concerns about the impact on the environment. This is because the wetlands serve as a natural sponge absorbing excess rainfall and doing its bit to reduce pollution. Wetlands are under threat due to exponential expansion of real-estate projects in Mumbai Now a day, land encroachment and land alteration are the important aspect of threats for Panje wetlands and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) had also published a report stating the protection of Panje wetlands due to its proximity to the Navi Mumbai International Airport.[5][14][15]

The wetland is a part of the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) and in the entire wetland a boundary has been created by NMSEZ.[13]

In September 2018, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra shut the high tide water ingress to the Panje Wetlands.[1] The barrier was built in the year 1991 with help from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay as a flood control mechanism. It shuts automatically during high tide and opens up during low tide, remaining closed throughout the months of monsoon. However, in the last week of September, some gates were damaged and the barrier was shut down, starving water supply into the mangroves.[16] Around 60% of the Panje wetlands dried up.[17] Navi Mumbai residents and environmentalists filed a complaint with the state highlighting CIDCO’s actions. This led to the HC appointed state mangrove committee to issue directions to stop reclamation activities at Uran to protect bird habitats.[10] On October 6, 2018, CIDCO opened 10 out of the 76 sluice gates.[4] But environmentalists complained it wasn’t enough to sustain the wetland. Vanashakti (an NGO) filed a contempt petition against Cidco under its original petition to safeguard wetlands in Maharashtra. On October 10, 2018, a day before the Bombay High Court appointed wetland grievance redressal committee was to hear the matter, Cidco vice chairman and managing director instructed his engineering team to open majority of the gates at Panje. Of 76 gates, 70 opened by Cidco, and the wetland, mangroves and holding pond area were partially restored.[16]

Today, Panje is the last surviving wetland of Uran.[3]