Source: IE
Context: Mumbai’s salt pans, critical natural ecosystems, are under threat as the government approved the transfer of 256 acres to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project for housing slum dwellers.
- These salt pans, spanning 5,378 acres in the city, help prevent flooding by accumulating rainwater and tidal inflows.
- Environmentalists argue that developing these lands will worsen flooding in areas like Vikhroli and Kanjurmarg.
- Despite their classification under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) protections, pressure to use them for housing persists.
Salt pan lands are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals, typically found in arid and semi-arid regions.
These lands are formed when bodies of water, such as lakes or ponds, evaporate, leaving behind salt deposits.
Salt pans are often associated with desert environments but can also occur in coastal areas where seawater evaporates in shallow basins.
