MUMBAI: The Centre has stepped in after environmentalists raised an alarm over the deteriorating condition of the 660-hectare Powai Lake in North Mumbai, which has effectively become a ‘reservoir of filth’ due to the daily inflow of 18 million litres of untreated sewage.
Responding swiftly to a complaint filed by environmental watchdog NatConnect Foundation through the PMO's public grievances portal, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has directed the Maharashtra Environment Director to take “necessary action.”
Pankaj Verma, Scientist-F at the MoEFCC, signed off on the directive, attaching a copy of the complaint, which emphasized the urgent need to secure and conserve the wetland.
According to NatConnect director B N Kumar, even the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has admitted that 18 million litres of sewage flows into the lake daily and has only “planned” permanent measures to divert the waste.
"Despite repeated assurances from civic authorities to clean the lake, the efforts have remained largely on paper," Kumar said. "Only after activists raised the alarm did any visible attempts begin to clear the hyacinth choking the lake."
Once a source of drinking water, Powai Lake is now overrun with hyacinth, thanks to the unchecked inflow of sewage. NatConnect has urged the Centre to intervene and protect the lake’s rich biodiversity, including crocodiles and native flora and fauna.
Efforts by activists to draw attention to the lake’s plight were recently obstructed when the BMC demanded an event fee of ₹11,000 to permit a ‘silent human chain’ around the lake, said Pamela Cheema, social activist and Powai resident. Cheema, who also heads a BMC-initiated Advance Locality Management (ALM) group, emphasized the symbolic importance of the event.
“We will not rest until the BMC fulfills its promises to divert sewage and install a sewage treatment plant,” said Milan Bhat, another ALM member.
Meanwhile, activists continue to build public support for the cause. An online petition launched by NatConnect has already garnered over 3,000 signatures, Kumar confirmed.