On Monday, November 1, the Bombay High Court (HC) restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from constructing the cycle track bordering Powai Lake till Thursday, November 18. Public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), stating that it would violate wetlands guidelines and rules. It will also disrupt the natural flora and fauna associated with the lake.
On the other hand, the civic body refused all the claims and said that it is a manmade reservoir, so the area surrounding the lake would not come under the purview of wetland guidelines and rules.
The PIL was filed by Omkar Supekar and Abhishek Tripathi, who are Ph.D. research scholars at IIT-B. Advocate Rajmani Varma informed a division bench of justice SJ Kathawalla and SP Tavade that the lake was the habitat of the Indian marsh crocodiles. Granting permission to construct the cycle track will have an adverse impact on crocodiles, he said.
Meanwhile, the court has asked the Maharashtra government to ascertain the claim of BMC and asked both the civic body and state to file their replies within a week. The hearing of the PIL is now posted on Monday, November 15.
A few days ago, it was reported that Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray had asked the BMC not to cut a single tree or change any natural surroundings from the beginning for the cycle track project.
Also read: Civic Body Commissions Study To Assess Crocodiles In Powai Lake
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