Members of Standing Committee of the BMC have demanded stricter action against officials responsible for releasing untreated sewerage water into the 120 year old Powai lake which is destroying the ecosystem of the 6.61 sq km water body. Members rejected the civic administration's proposal of beautification of Powai Lake worth Rs. 7.5 crore, and demanded that the cleaning of the lake was far more necessary than mere beautification.
Members of Standing Committee of the BMC have demanded stricter action against officials responsible for releasing untreated sewerage water into the 120 year old Powai lake which is destroying the ecosystem of the 6.61 sq km water body. Members rejected the civic administration's proposal of beautification of Powai Lake worth Rs. 7.5 crore, and demanded that the cleaning of the lake was far more necessary than mere beautification.
While the members demanded that action should also be taken against the developer who has developed a majority of buildings in the area and five star luxury hotel in the area for releasing untreated waste, Yashodhar Phanse, Chairman of Standing Committee asked the civic chief to conduct an inquiry into who allowed the plans to let the untreated sewage into the natural water body.
Pravin Chheda, Leader of the Oppositionin the BMC, Manoj Kotak, BJP Leader in the BMC and Ramesh Korgaonkar, Shiv Sena member in Standing Committee took objection to the proposal and said that merely beautifying Powai Lake without giving importance on cleaning the lake, which is stinking of sewer water, was unacceptable.
Members have criticised the civic administration for punishing citizens who do not have proper toilet facilities and have to defecate in the open, while civic officials themselves are responsible for polluting a beautiful lake for years without anyone being held accountable for it.
Kotak said that if the water was leaking from sewage lines, then it could have been repaired. However, in this case, the sewage was being released intentionally, he said. "Instead of beautification, civic administration should come up with a proposal for diverting sewage lines", said Kotak.
Ramesh Korgaonkar said that due to the civic body's apathy and continuous letting out of sewage water and excessive growth of weeds had resulted in choking the aquatic ecosystem. "The proposal for removing weeds was approved by Standing Committee in past, but weeds are still there. What is the reason behind this. Administration should explain", he demanded.
Chheda said, "Those who come for walk and experience the serene beauty of Powai Lake are subjected to foul smell and polluted environment".
“Central government's National River Conservation Directorate has asked the civic body to launch an investigation into the matter. Civic administration has not explained anything about it,” said Phanse.
According to Sunish Subramanian, secretary of NGO PAWS-Mumbai, who has been raising the issue of Powai lake degradation for a decade now, he had written a letter to Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), BMC and the Powai police station in August this year stating that an FIR should be filed under the Environment (Protection) Act against people responsible for releasing sewage water into the lake.
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