June 12, 2025: In a swift response to a complaint lodged 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 Lotus Lake in Navi Mumbai with the Maharashtra Environment Department.
The complaint, filed by NatConnect Director B.N. Kumar via the PMO’s Public Grievance Portal, received acknowledgement from the MoEFCC’s Wetlands Division within just thirty minutes. Pankaj Verma, Scientist-F in the division, confirmed the matter was being “taken up” and directed Maharashtra’s Environment Director, Abhay Madhukar Pimparkar, to act on the issue.
Lotus Lake, a three-hectare verified wetland located in Nerul, forms part of the 564 wetlands identified by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) under the state’s long-pending wetland notification process. It is also listed in the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment (NWIA), with protection mandated by a Supreme Court ruling.
Despite legal protections, including Bombay High Court directives in two public interest litigations (PILs), CIDCO is reportedly proceeding with landfill activity. Kumar highlighted that CIDCO has awarded a contract to TIPL, a firm linked to a politically influential figure, to dump debris from the Navi Mumbai International Airport construction on the wetland.
Environmental activists have raised strong objections, prompting the High Court-appointed Wetland Committee to direct CIDCO to halt the activity. Nevertheless, CIDCO is allegedly seeking police protection to complete the landfill within 15 days.
“This is a serious threat to biodiversity and ecological stability,” Kumar warned, urging urgent intervention.
NatConnect emphasised that as India’s wetlands face rapid degradation, it is imperative to protect the few that remain for future ecological balance and urban sustainability.
Source: Deccan Herald
