Environmentalists challenge CIDCO's stance on wetlands in Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists have challenged the City Industrial and Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd's (CIDCO) denial mode regarding the status of the Lotus Lake, and NRI, T S Chanakya and Panje wetlands in and around the satellite township of Navi Mumbai.

NatConnect Foundation has come out with fresh evidence to prove that Lotus Lake has been listed under the National Wetland Atlas prepared based on the Space Application Centre survey.

Lotus Lake also figures in the list of wetlands inspected by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM).

The Maharashtra State Environment Department has asked the NCSCM to map all the major wetlands in the state and do brief documentation, according to information obtained by NatConnect Foundation under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

NatConnect Director B N Kumar said the environment provided a list of 564 wetlands inspected by the NCSCM team across Nagpur, Gonda, Bhandara, Palghjar, Raigad, Thane, Chandrapur, Sindhdurg and Pune districts.

The Thane district list of 19 wetlands Lotus Lake on top of the table. Flamingo point – NRI, TS Chanakya, and Jewel of Navi Mumbai are the other wetlands inspected and documented by the NCSCM team.

Armed with this fresh evidence, Kumar has sent an email to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change regarding CIDCO’s attempts to bury Lotus Lake.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India (MOEFCC) quickly responded and asked the State Environment Director to investigate the issue.

A top state government official informed NatConnect that the environment department will “do something” to save Lotus Lake.

NCSCM has surveyed 18 wetlands in Raigad district. Prominent among them are the wetlands at Panje, Boripakdi, Khopte, Sheva, Karal, Kharghar and Kharghar Sector-25 and Sonkar.

NatConnect has expressed the happiness that these wetlands are included. Kumar regretted that the major wetlands such Belpada and Bhendkhal, listed by Atlas, are missing in the list of inspected wetlands.

CIDCO allotted Belpada wetland to JNPA and Bhendkhal to NMSEZ. Panje is also under NMSEZ and Vanashakti has been fighting a legal battle to save the wetland for a long time.

Kumar appealed to the State Environment Department to expedite the survey of all the remaining 1500 plus major wetlands and notify them officially.

This will help protect and conserve these water bodies, he said