India, Dec. 1 -- A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court, accusing the state government of "systematically refusing" to initiate penal action against large-scale destruction of mangroves, private forest land, and other ecologically sensitive areas.

The petitioners, Vanashakti, a public trust working on environmental and social issues, and its director, Stalin Dayanand, cited a 2018 judgment to argue that the State has a constitutional obligation to protect and preserve all forests, including mangroves and terrestrial forests. The PIL, filed on November 22, stated that under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, state governments have been directed to strictly monitor mangroves, remove en...