Cycling track project near Powai Lake illegal: Bombay High Court

In a major setback for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bombay High Court on Friday held that construction of a cycling track near the city's Powai lake was illegal and directed BMC to stop its work at the site and restore the ground..A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice VG Bisht also ordered the civic body to remove all the construction work, it had carried out near the lake so far.”It is declared that the work of cycling and jogging track being carried out by respondent BMC inside the boundaries and its catchment area of the Powai lake is illegal,“ the Court said. BMC was also restrained from carrying out any reclamation or construction for the project of cycling and jogging track or for any other project near the Powai lake and its catchment area..BMC counsel Joel Carlos sought stay on the order but the same was declined. "If the court stays its own order, then it shows that the court is not sure of its order. We don't pass orders like that. We are sure it (cycling track work) is illegal and so it has been stopped," CJ Datta said. .The order was passed in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by two IIT Bombay students - Omkar Supekar and Abhishek Tripathi challenging the ongoing work near the lake.The students filed their plea through advocate Rajmani Verma.The PIL was filed to protect, conserve and restore the extremely vulnerable Powai lake wetland from reclamation and ongoing construction activities carried out by the respondents - BMC and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (MTDCL).The students argued that Powai lake is a notified wetland by National Wetland Atlas 2011 and has been included in the unified scheme – National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecousystems (NPCA), after merging the National Lame Conservation Plan with National Wetland Conservation Program.Notably, the work on cycling track had been stayed by a vacation bench of the High Court in October last year. .Although the acclaimed project suggests ‘rejuvenation and reinvigoration’ of the physical and natural environment of Powai Lake, photographs, showed land flling which could not construed as ‘rejuvenation and reinvigoration’ of the physical and natural environment of Powai Lake.“Common sense would prompt a disturbing conclusion that construction of cycle track or any slightest disturbance to the otherwise serene water body of the surrounding area would have far reaching efects on the ecology and acquatic life of the lake… To show and submit that the project is being carried out to create a community access to the lake front and to enable access to the la e front for maintenance of lake, its periphery and for preservation of erosion, siltation and encroachment, is a bit hard to swallow, considering the material on record” the Bench asserted..[Read order]