Navi Mumbai: Centre Steps In to Protect Lotus Lake After NatConnect Complaint

Navi Mumbai: In a swift response to a complaint by the environmental NGO NatConnect Foundation, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has taken up the issue of the attempted burial of the Lotus Lake wetland in Nerul with the Maharashtra Environment Department.

The move follows a grievance filed by NatConnect director B N Kumar via the Prime Minister’s Office Public Grievance (PMOPG) portal, raising concerns over CIDCO’s alleged plans to landfill the three-hectare verified wetland within 15 days. The MOEFCC responded within just 30 minutes, marking the issue as "Taken up" on the portal. Pankaj Verma, Scientist-F from the Wetland Division, directed the State Environment Director Abhay Madhukar Pimparkar to act on the complaint.

Kumar lauded the MOEFCC’s quick action and urged the state authorities to match this urgency. “CIDCO appears determined to bury the wetland despite judicial and environmental directives, and has even sought police protection to complete the landfill,” Kumar warned.

He reminded the MOEFCC that Lotus Lake is listed as a verified wetland by the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA), conducted by the Space Application Centre (SAC), and is among 564 wetlands documented by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) for the Maharashtra government.

Further, the Bombay High Court has granted protection to Lotus Lake in two separate PILs filed by Advocate Pradeep Patole. In one, the court ordered CIDCO to clear dumped debris; in the other, it disposed of the matter after Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) assured the court it would remove encroachments.

Despite these rulings, CIDCO has reportedly handed over the wetland dumping contract to TIPL, a private contractor linked to a politically influential figure. The debris reportedly originates from the ongoing construction of the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

Protests by environmentalists and intervention from the High Court-appointed Wetland Committee forced a temporary halt to the dumping after NGO Vanashakti raised the alarm. However, CIDCO remains defiant, pushing for police assistance to finish the job in two weeks.

“This is a dangerous development for biodiversity and ecological balance,” Kumar cautioned in his letter to the Centre. “With wetlands disappearing at an alarming rate, we must preserve whatever is left.”