MUMBAI, Jan. 10 -- Despite a clear two-month deadline set by the Bombay High Court in October 2025, district administrations across Maharashtra have transferred barely 955.63 hectares of over 10,000 hectares of mangrove forest to the state's Mangrove Cell. Palghar and Raigad districts account for the bulk of the non-compliance. The disclosure was made in an affidavit filed on January 7 by S V Ramarao, additional principal chief conservator of forests (Mangrove Cell), in response to the high court's October 16, 2025, order directing all government departments to hand over pending mangrove lands to the Mangrove Cell within two months. The order was passed by a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sandesh Patil while hearing a contempt petition filed by city-based NGO Vanshakti, which alleged continued violation of earlier court directions issued in 2018. At that time, the high court had noted that despite its orders, nearly 10,000 hectares of mangrove forests remained with district administrations instead of being transferred to the forest department for protection. Vanshakti had told the court that although about 4,000 hectares were transferred following the 2018 judgment, as much as 10,044 hectares of mangrove land were never handed over. The petition also pointed to 1,637.20 hectares identified as mangrove land in a 2005 map prepared by the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre that has still not been transferred. The NGO warned that the continued delay suggested destruction of mangroves and stressed that such land was required to be restored and developed for mangrove cultivation, as directed by the court. "This implies that all such mangrove forests have indeed been destroyed," the petition states, and adds that such land was directed to be identified as land capable for mangrove cultivation and restored by the government. According to the latest affidavit, a total of 9765.19 hectares of land are yet to be handed to the Mangroves CEll. Palghar district has transferred just 2.50 hectares of mangrove forest after the October 16 order, against a pending 4,772.43 hectares. Raigad district handed over 553.89 hectares out of a pending 4,104.11 hectares, while Thane transferred only 13.72 hectares of its pending 447.24 hectares. Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Sindhudurg districts have largely complied with the high court's directions and together have only 115.89 hectares of mangrove land yet to be transferred, the affidavit states....