Mumbai: Is it now too late to save Charkop lake?

The wetland, as it was in 2005 (left) and the state it has been reduced to at present

The alleged connivance of the land mafia and senior government officials has reduced a 50-year-old wetland of 4.5 acres at Charkop in Kandivli West to 1,000 sq ft as encroachers have opened garages and godowns to store soft drinks as well as restaurants, eateries, tea and paan-bidi stalls. Recently, civic officials razed a few encroachments, but encroachers still fearlessly run their businesses under the alleged protection of senior babus.

The lake as it was in 2005, five years before it was allegedly illegally filled by the land mafia

Locals have also alleged that the land mafia dumped debris and earth to fill the lake. "This has not only reduced the holding capacity of the lake but also clogged the nullah causing major inconvenience during monsoon as the roads get flooded. The lake area has been converted into a concrete jungle," said a resident, adding, "Civic and revenue officials have destroyed the lake with their vested interests. This is why government officials are hesitant to begin cracking down on the encroachers. The partial demolitions will make no difference."

Activist's allegations

Social activist Reji Abraham said, "Charkop has a huge number of ground-floor clusters. But the anti-environmentalists, in connivance with the revenue and BMC officials, have reduced the 4.5-acre wetland to the bare minimum. Here, the land mafia is earning lakhs of rupees per month and they are using the same money to bribe officials and take stay orders (on demolition) in the court."

Civic officials demolish encroachments facilitated by the land mafia, on October 30

"In 1972, the then-collector had given this wetland to a potters' society for 30 years to use its clay to make pots. The lease expired in 2002 but it was extended by officials. The potters' society hardly made use of this wetland and the land mafia started to eat into it, reducing its size," he added.

In light of this, nearly a dozen housing societies ran a signature campaign in 2006 to protect the wetland under the banner ‘Chakop Talao Bachao Abhiyan'. Several residents as well as staffers of a nationalised bank undersigned the documents highlighting how the wetland plays an important ecological and hydrological role. "In 2010, the land mafia filled 25,000 sq ft of the wetland," alleged Abraham.

Court order

Considering the importance of wetlands, in October 2013, Bombay High Court said that on areas that have been identified as wetland areas in the Wetland Atlas prepared by the Central government, there shall be no reclamation of land and "no construction of whatsoever nature is permitted on the said lands without leave of this court".

Garbage on illegally reclaimed land

"Considering the need to protect the wetlands in the state and to ensure compliance with the interim orders passed by this court, a grievance redressal mechanism will have to be created. We, accordingly, direct the state government to constitute a committee headed by the divisional commissioner of the Konkan Division to monitor the implementation of the interim orders passed by this court in the Konkan," reads the Bombay HC order.

"The state government shall appoint senior revenue officers working under the divisional commissioner, Konkan Division, as well as senior police officers having jurisdiction over various areas of districts in the Konkan to be part of the committee. It will be open for the state government to include any expert as a member of the committee. Even a representative of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board shall be a part of the committee. All planning authorities within the meaning of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, in the said districts must be given a representation of the committee," reads the court order. "… but neither the revenue nor the civic officials obeyed this order as the certified land mafia continued to encroach upon the wetland," Abraham said.

"Protection and regeneration of this wetland after the removal of encroachers is of paramount importance in the larger interest of Charkop residents; more so, in the light of prevalent largescale environmental degradation and pollution. All senior state government authorities including the civic chief and the Collector Mumbai (Suburban) must act," the activist added.

Organisation's plea

In 2021, activists associated with River March, an organisation that works towards rejuvenating the city's rivers, wrote a letter to the chief minister and environment minister as well as local public representatives requesting them to give the lake legal protection. In March last year, Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray posted about beautifying the lake's premises on X.

Residents speak

Amol Bamne, a resident of the Jeevan Veena Society, said, "Earlier, there was a big lake where Ganpati visarjans and boating activities would take place. The wetland has disappeared because of encroachers and we want it back."

Tina Singh, resident

Sunil Ramchandra Gole, a resident of the Jeevan Sandeep Society, said, "The land was given to a particular group but they didn't develop it. We ran a signature campaign but the government didn't take it seriously. This is the only wetland in our area and it should be preserved."

Tina Singh, a resident of Surmesh building, said, "It was a very beautiful lake. I shifted to Charkop in 2002 and used to look at the lovely water body from my window. Now, its condition is terrible. People litter and many encroachments have taken place. We want the lake to be restored."

Another Surmesh building resident, Amit Mane, said, "In 1995 our building developed and in 1998 we used to visit this lake and do Ganpati visarjans there. It was open land. We can't even go near the water body now. The government should take this matter seriously."

Officials speak

The in-charge of the factory and building department R-South ward, Abhayraje Jagtap said, "A week ago, we carried out demolition in that area in the presence of revenue officials. We provided them with the manpower and required. The revenue officials directed us to demolish the encroachments and we simply complied."

Rajendra Bhosale, collector, Mumbai Suburban district, said, "I will tell the additional collector (encroachment) to take action. Also, I will tell civic officials to register an FIR under the MRTP and BMC Acts. All water bodies are handed over to the BMC because the health aspects are covered by the civic bodies. All the water bodies need to be restored."

"I have not received any complaint yet. You can write to me and in the same complaint letter I will direct them (to take action)," he said. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been doing studies on the in and around Mumbai. Charkop and other wetlands play an important role in influencing bird dispersal in the region as well as in protecting the mainland from floods. "If we lose these wetlands, it will have serious implications during the monsoon season. BNHS has done the correspondence with the authorities. We must protect these wetlands at any cost," said Kishor Rithe, director, BNHS.

2006
Year citizens began signature drive