Mumbai: Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli
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Net asset value (excluding land)
As in 2022
Text by Bhavika Jain, Sep The Times of India
A one-of-its-kind study commissioned by the state forest department and carried out with the help of IIT Bombay has quantified the value of SGNP, one of those rare forests located within a bustling city.
According to the study by Haripriya Gundimeda, professor in the department of humanities and social sciences at IIT Bombay, the net asset value of SGNP is a staggering Rs 15.09 lakh crore. And this, mind you, does not include the price of the land on which the forest stands.
The study took into account various parameters like recreational services, health benefits, clean water, air purification, carbon regulation and aesthetics to derive the value. The author believes that the SGNP is worth a lot more as several non-tangible benefits and ecological services it provides cannot be quantified due to paucity of data.
The study arms environmentalists with a new argument in the frequent environment versus development debates. Cost escalations are often quoted when there are attempts to save a green space from being sacrificed, say, for a road project. However, nobody ever mentions the cost of green space and its cost-benefit in terms of the services it provides.
For instance, massive cost escalations (Rs 10,000 crore according to some estimates) in moving the Metro-II car shed in Mumbai from Aarey forest to Kanjurmarg has been the pro-development side’s often quoted argument, but nobody has ever pegged a price on the green cover that the car shed at Aarey will gobble up.
“SGNP is unique as it is located in the heart of the world’s second- largest metropolitan city. The park provides various ecosystem services, but they are undervalued. Due to their undervaluing, the forest is accorded low policy priority compared to other productive sectors of the economy,” said Gundimeda.
According to the study, the ecological services that SGNP provides are worth Rs 63,417.5 crore, equal to 15% of Mumbai and Thane’s combined district domestic product and 38% of the industrial output of the two cities for the year 2019-20.
Here are some the services that SGNP provides Greater Mumbai and their estimated cost:
Clean water: Because of its strict protection status, the park regulates the hydrological flows and secures good quality water for Greater Mumbai through its two lakes — Tulsi and Vihar.
According to the study, because the water that Tulsi and Vihar provide is of superior quality, it saves the city Rs 11.87 crore every year in treatment costs. This figure was arrived at by comparing the water from Tulsi and Vihar with that of Powai lake, which lies outside SGNP and is extremely polluted.
According to the study, the cost of creating a treatment plant to process the amount of water that the two lakes produce – the job currently carried out by the forest that surrounds them – would be Rs 2,867 crore.
At the same time, creating a new source for providing the same quantity and quality of water as the two lakes could cost the city Rs 252 crore.
Clean air: Surrounded by dense urban settlements on all its sides (see map) the SGNP acts as a giant lung for the city, absorbing pollutants and releasing clean air.
The study estimates that the park filters 595 tonnes of PM 2.5 and 3,668 tonnes of PM10 particles and also filters 25,792 tonnes of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) annually. In a comparative analysis of air quality monitoring data from different stations in the city, it was seen that emissions are higher in other parts of the city (see map).
The health benefits of SGNP in terms of preventive mortality due to respiratory ailments and respiratory-induced cardiac ailments have been pegged at Rs 125.5 crore per annum. If the work that SGNP does in providing clean air were to be replaced with technological alternatives, it would cost Mumbai Rs 660 crore over the next six years. The equivalent capital value of the park in regulating air value is estimated to be Rs 2,750 crore.
Carbon sequestration: SGNP sequesters carbon value worth Rs 3.2 crore per year and stores carbon stock worth Rs 416.2 crore . The Park lowered the minimum temperature by 2.56° C and the maximum by 1.58°C. It increased the relative humidity by 1.9%. The capital value of this service, according to the study, is Rs 416.2 crore a year.
Aesthetic value: The study used the Hedonic price method [Hedonic pricing is a model that identifies price factors according to the premise that price is determined both by internal characteristics of the goods being sold and external factors affecting it] to calculate the premium that properties in SGNP’s vicinity commands. The report revealed that for staying next to the park, a resident pays a 24% higher premium in rental values, and the resident getting a good view of the park would pay a 38% premium compared to those without a view and not residing next to the park. The aesthetic premium has been estimated as ₹1,598 per month for a 600sq ft flat. Thus, the park's aesthetic value has been estimated at Rs 447 crore per annum (a very conservative estimate). That, conservatively, works out to be Rs 11,175 crore per annum.
Non-timber forest products: People residing in ‘padas’ (tribal hamlets) inside the national park, collect non-timber forest produce (NTFP) and sell it. Though it is difficult to put a value on this because the collection and sale of NTFP is not organised, the study estimates it to be close to Rs 20 crore a year. The capital worth of forests that can generate this income equals Rs 80 crore.
Existence value: Citizens value the park for its mere existence, even though they may or may not derive any benefit from it. The willingness to pay for protecting the park in perpetuity shows how much the citizens value its existence. The net existence value of the park has been estimated at ₹11,77,044 crore, excluding the value of the land on which the park stands. Existence values are the highest among the services provided by the park.
The report recommends that there needs to be greater awareness regarding the ecological services that SGNP provides. Even where value exists there is a severe undervaluation. “Due to the lack of recognition of the values provided by the park, the alternate uses of land look more valuable,” said Gundimeda.
Identifying the ecological and economic values makes a strong case for conservation, maintenance, restoration, and sustainable management of the park. She has also suggested that the recreational activities in the park must be improved on the lines of Singapore Zoo, New York Central Park and Bhutan for Life Park.
The study recommends that there should be a blanket ban on denotification of the park for any activity. Land diversion should be strictly restricted, and any concretization activity in the park should be stopped. All the encroachments in the park need to be removed, and the construction activities halted, the report recommends.
About Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park was declared a national park in 1983 and is unique because of its location in the second largest metropolitan city in the world. The only other national park with such a unique location that readily comes to mind is the Tijuca National Park in Rio, Brazil.
The SGNP encompasses a protected area of approximately 104sqkm, with 44.45sqkm falling under the Mumbai suburban district and 58.64sqkm falling in Thane district.
The park has rich faunal diversity with 59 species of mammals, 24 species of ants, 52 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians, and 30 species of fish.
Several archaeological sites and religious sites that can be traced back to the 1st century BC exist inside the national park. One of the park’s major attractions is the Buddhist caves (Kanheri caves) dating back to 1st century BC-9th century AD. The caves are maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. These are 109 caves carved out of volcanic rock. The park offers several attractions like boating and Tiger safari. The park is known more for its leopard population. There are only two tigers and they are kept in captivity.
Buddhist caves
Discovered in 2016
The Times of India, Jan 17 2016
Clara Lewis
Seven ancient Buddhist caves found in Mumbai
Seven caves have been discovered in the forests of the sprawling Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli, on the northern fringes of Mumbai. The caves are Buddhist `viharas' (residences for monks) with only one of them showing the remains of a `harmika' (the top railing of a stupa). They are believed to have been constructed before the Kanheri Caves nearby and probably served as a monsoon shelter for the monks.
While a formal approval from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is awaited for detailed exploration and documentation of the new caves, the team that has discovered the caves date them between 1st century BCE (or BC) and 5th-6th century CE (or AD). The discovery was made by a threemember team last February under an excavation programme jointly conducted by the Centre for Archaeology, Mumbai University , and the department of ancient Indian culture, Sathaye College, Vile Parle; the head of the department, Suraj Pandit, led the team.
“The newly discovered caves may have been older than the Kanheri Caves as they were simpler in form and they lacked water cisterns, which are found in the more evolved architecture of Kanheri. Moreover, we found monolithic tools which were prevalent in the 1st century BC. The absence of water cisterns also indicate that monks lived there in the monsoon,“ said Pandit. Pandit said the seven new caves were not an accidental discovery , but rather the result of a systematic survey of the area. Before beginning actual field work, the team carried out documentary research for three months, which included a study of the area's topography and water resources as most viharas were constructed close to a water source. The Kanheri Caves, which date between 1st century BCE and 10th century CE, are famous for their water management and rain water harvesting systems.This helped to zero in on areas where they were most likely to find caves.
The team also referred to Pali texts, which describe caves around Rajgir in Bihar as viharas (residences) of Buddhist monks. The team expected to find similar viharas, either natural or manmade, around Kanheri.They also studied 150-yearold reports of the ASI to understand how to conduct the exploration. “The reports narrate the discovery of pot shreds and microlithic tools, and we decided to look for these,“ said Pandit.]
With permission from the forest department to explore the park for new caves, the team, accompanied by two forest guards, began ground exploration towards the end of February in 2015.
