Row erupts over move to roll back wetland status to eight sites, flamingo habitats

The dispute is framed as a political contest between CIDCO under the urban development department led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and the opposition from forest minister Ganesh Naik, with Naik challenging the wetland committee’s conclusions and CIDCO’s land disposal policies in Navi Mumbai.

Environmentalists cautioned that removing wetland protections could weaken safeguards and make flamingo habitats vulnerable to reclamation and development, citing the flamingo habitats and related sites.

Thane collector Shrikrishna Panchal said the committee’s findings are based on data, historical records and urban planning arguments submitted by CIDCO. He stated two more experts would be appointed as per government guidelines, and that the NMMC’s views would also be considered before finalisation.

Forest minister Ganesh Naik publicly challenged the committee’s findings, questioning how the report could contradict wetland reservations already reflected in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation development plan. He said eight to ten water bodies recognized as wetlands were being declared non-wetlands and urged interventions before minutes were confirmed.

The state forest and mangrove departments formally communicated their objections to the report and sought legal protection for these sites under the Wetlands Rules, 2017.

The committee's case relied on CIDCO’s stand that the area falls within a planned development zone, where global tenders had earlier been floated for a golf course project. Similar development-linked arguments were cited for TS Chanakya lake; the panel also described the artificially created ‘Jewel of Navi Mumbai’ lake as functioning as a stormwater management system rather than a natural wetland.

The Thane District Wetland Monitoring Committee, under the Thane district collector, stated that none of the eight water bodies in Navi Mumbai and Thane qualify as wetlands under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The sites named include TS Chanakya lake, NRI wetland (Flamingo Point), DPS lake, Jewel of Navi Mumbai, Lotus lake, Ganesh Mandir lake, Gothivali lake, Jijamata creek and Nilje lake. The committee argued that several sites are artificial or heavily modified or historically linked to salt pans, paddy cultivation, drainage infrastructure and planned urban development.