CM orders UD dept to probe DPS lake issue

Navi Mumbai: Responding to green groups pleas to save the 30-acre DPS Flamingo Lake at Nerul in Navi Mumbai from being buried by Cidco for commercial exploitation, chief minister Eknath Shinde has asked the urban development department to investigate the issue. Local green group NatConnect Foundation has requested the CM’s intervention to transfer the lake to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) for conservation.A proposal from NMMC for conserving the lake in association with BNHS is already pending with Cidco. Meanwhile, greens urged CM Shinde to have the proposal cleared quickly.
Shinde, who himself handles the department, asked Aseem Gupta, principal secretary- UD-1, to take appropriate action on the issues raised by Navi Mumbai-based green group NatConnect Foundation, including the choking of tidal water inlets to the lake thus rendering it dry. Environmentalists see the choking of the inlets as a ploy by Cidco to sell the lake area after making it dry even though the place supports a whole lot of biodiversity and is home to thousands of flamingos, NatConnect director B N Kumar wrote to the CM.—B B Nayak