Flamingo Haven Awaits Protection as Migration to Mumbai Lags

Even as the yearly arrival of winter migratory flamingos to Mumbai’s eastern waterfront has been unusually delayed, the proposed protection of DPS Flamingo Lake in Navi Mumbai remains stuck in procedural limbo.

The NatConnect Foundation has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking early issuance of the Government Resolution (GR) to formally notify the lake as a Conservation Reserve and transfer its management to the Forest Department. 

The Maharashtra State Wildlife Board, chaired by the Chief Minister, approved the proposal in April 2025, but the final GR is yet to be issued.

Environmentalists say the delay has left the wetland without clear conservation authority at a time when it is under visible ecological strain.

Large portions of the lake are currently covered with a dense layer of green algae, raising concerns about declining oxygen levels and habitat stress. Activists attribute the bloom to stagnant water caused by disrupted intertidal flow. Outlet pipelines are reportedly set at a height that prevents complete drainage during low tide, limiting the lake’s natural flushing process. 

Officials who have inspected the site reportedly acknowledged that the channels need to be lowered.

Compounding the issue, the main southern water channel remains blocked beneath an access road built by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). Despite the Wildlife Board’s decision, CIDCO continues to exercise control over the lake and describes the site as a “developable land parcel.” A signboard at the location declares the wetland a CIDCO “plot” and warns that trespassers will face prosecution.

A clean-up exercise initiated by the Mangrove Cell could not be completed due to jurisdictional limitations.

“It is essential that the GR be issued at the earliest and the lake handed over to the Forest Department for proper maintenance,” said NatConnect Director B N Kumar, adding that prolonged delay weakens conservation safeguards and leaves the wetland under fragmented control.

DPS Flamingo Lake, along with TS Chanakya and NRI Lake wetlands, functions as an important high-tide refuge for flamingos from the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.

Senior scientist Mrugank Prabhu of Srushti Conservation Foundation, who monitors migratory routes along the Central Asian Flyway, said flamingos are presently concentrated in Gujarat’s wetlands, including the Rann of Kutch, where water availability remains favourable. “The birds are likely to begin moving towards the Mumbai region by the second week of March,” he said.

Sandeep Sareen of Navi Mumbai Environment Preservation Society noted that wetland health directly influences flamingo presence. “Last year, once intertidal flow was restored, thousands of flamingos returned. If habitat conditions deteriorate, the birds will choose alternative sites,” he said.