The Bombay high court has asked the district collector suburban to verify and submit a report by September 20, on whether dumping is being done in Powai lake, thus polluting it, whether trees around the lake are being illegally cut and so are hillocks in nearby areas.
A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Amjad Sayed has directed the collector while hearing a public interest litigation filed by social activist Shiv Shankar Joshi. Advocate for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Trupti Puranik has already filed an affidavit in the court stating that the civic body has planted several trees in the area of the lake and its vicinity.
The court had earlier reprimanded the civic body and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) on the issue of the shrinking Powai lake. It had also directed the authorities to file the reply affidavits stating the actions taken by them to save the lake.
The court said that it is a very serious matter and if efforts to save the lake aren't made immediately, ‘then soon it will become invisible'. Joshi has argued that the lake has now turned into a large gutter where all the waste material is being dumped. Moreover, the residents use it to dispose their own garbage. The lake which once enhanced the beauty of the city has been now reduced to a displeasing site. This is also affecting the nearby Vihar lake which supplies water to the city. If it sees the same fate as that of the lake Powai, then the people will also suffer.
Earlier, following an RTI application filed regarding the same issue, BMC said that it was aware of the problem of Powai lake and was taking steps to protect the same. It constituted the Powai Lake Rejuvenation Committee, comprising of experts from IITs and other institutes. But according to Joshi, it only exists on papers.
The lake was surrounded by a thick forest cover which has now vanished as the area has been turned into commercial plots. Due to such rapid deforestation, rainfall in the area has considerably reduced, thus resulting in drying up of the lake.
