Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister and Minister for Cultural Affairs and Information Technology, Advocate Ashish Shelar, on Wednesday issued firm directives to the authorities concerned to draft and submit a comprehensive action plan within three months for the essential desilting of Powai, Tulsi, and Vehar lakes.
The directives were issued during a crucial meeting chaired by Shelar on Wednesday at Mantralaya to specifically address the issue of desilting of Powai Lake.
Key officials present at the meeting included BMC Additional Commissioner Abhijit Bangar, Conservator of Forests from Sanjay Gandhi National Park Anita Patil, as well as senior officials from both the Environment Department and the civic body.
The Powai Lake, which typically overflows by July each year, began overflowing as early as June this year.
This early overflow has sparked serious concerns over whether the absence of timely desilting is to be blamed for the accelerated water levels.
The issue was discussed in detail during the meeting, with a strong focus laid on implementing urgent desilting measures. It was also highlighted that NGO MERI has previously conducted a detailed survey specifically on the pollution levels within the lake, providing valuable insights on the issue.
Spanning nearly 557 acres, Powai Lake is currently facing a significant surge in water hyacinth growth. This proliferation is largely attributed to the continuous discharge of untreated sewage from the surrounding areas into the lake. While BMC has initiated preliminary measures to curb this ongoing pollution, Shelar has further emphasised the critical need for a detailed study which should focus on the efficient transportation and proper storage of silt that will be removed following the desilting operations of both Powai and Tulsi-Vehar lakes.
The minister also directed that a clear and well-defined action plan be prepared for these works.
Minister Shelar also strongly encouraged the use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to both support and accelerate this vital desilting initiative.
With a storage capacity of 545 crore litres (5.45 billion litres), the Powai Lake is mainly used for industrial activities and non-potable purposes, particularly to meet the needs of the Aarey Milk Colony and surrounding establishments.