November 08, 2025: Environmentalists in Navi Mumbai have voiced strong opposition to what they describe as an attempt by CIDCO to “bury” the three-hectare Lotus Lake in Nerul under the guise of real estate development. Despite State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik’s public reprimand of CIDCO officials, activists claim that the agency has failed to act on his directive to clear debris dumped into the wetland.
Earlier, a CIDCO contractor had reportedly filled part of the lake with soil and debris from the Navi Mumbai International Airport site. Public protests forced a temporary halt, but residents say the damage remains. During a Janata Darbar, Naik ordered CIDCO to remove the debris within a week, but “the deadline passed, and not a single stone was removed,” said B N Kumar, Director of NatConnect Foundation, expressing frustration over the inaction.
Activist Sunil Agarwal, who leads the Save Navi Mumbai Environment Forum, has appealed to state and central authorities to prevent CIDCO from reclaiming the lake, which he says is home to lotus plants and thousands of migratory birds. “If we lose the few remaining wetlands, Navi Mumbai will be doomed,” Agarwal warned.
CIDCO, however, maintains that Lotus Lake is not a wetland but a man-made waterbody created on Plot No. 2, Sector 27, Nerul. The agency has allegedly engaged an infrastructure firm to dispose of construction waste from the airport project at the site. Kumar countered CIDCO’s claim, citing the Ramsar Convention, which defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water—natural or artificial—that support aquatic life.”
Meanwhile, the State Environment Department confirmed that ground-truthing of Lotus Lake—listed in the National Wetland Inventory—has been completed by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, a step toward officially notifying Maharashtra’s 23,000 wetlands.
Source: The Times of India
