Environmentalist's drive to get the 30-acre DPS Flamingo Lake to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has gained momentum with MLA Ganesh Naik supporting it and promising to take up the issue with the government.
The lake was in the news recently as the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took a suo motu note of flamingo deaths after the waterbody was rendered dry due to the blocking of tidal water flow while constructing the access road to the Nerul jetty.
"CIDCO has violated the stipulation imposed by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the State Forest Department not to interfere with the free flow of tidal water while destroying 0.46 hectares of mangroves for the passenger water transport terminal at Nerul," NatConnect Foundation B N Kumar said, adding, though CIDCO itself had given an undertaking under the Forest Conservation Act that the water flow would not be affected, the main channel on the southern end of the lake was blocked which has been confirmed by the Forest Department inspection.
Under Naik’s instructions, NMMC officials cleared couple of water choke points following which CIDCO filed a complaint with the police against the civic body. CIDCO has also erected sign boards around the lake proclaiming that “plot” belongs to the planner and that action would be taken against any trespassing.
“This is apparently a CIDCO ploy to commercialise the biodiversity-rich DPS Flamingo Lake,” said NatConnect director B N Kumar lodging a complaint with the Chief Minister and requested the government to step in to hand over the lake to NMMC for conservation and maintenance.
The CM has referred the issue to the Urban Development Department to investigate into the complaint.
Kumar said, “We are awaiting response from the government to our application under the Right To Information (RTI) Act seeking the status of action on the CM’s mail”.
CIDCO, which has transferred 25 lakes to NMMC, continues to have control over major wetlands such as the DPS Flamingo Lake and the NRI and TS Chanakya wetlands.
While the dispute over the twin wetlands of NRI and TS Chanakya is pending in the Supreme Court, CIDCO plans to develop real estate on the DPS Lake, Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Kumar discussed several environmental issues with Naik and raised the issue of violations by CIDCO. Naik agreed that the DPS Flamingo Lake must be handed over to the NMMC for conservation and maintenance.
"Flamingos have increased the beauty and importance of our city. It our duty to make sure they stay in the city and the lake is taken care of. I am with the environmentalists in this. I will take up the matter with government in appropriate way demanding to incorporate the lake with NMMC," Naik said.
