Overview
- India’s environment ministry directed the Maharashtra State Wetland Authority to submit an action taken report in response to complaints about three polluted Nerul wetlands.
- Lab results commissioned by activists showed TDS at 17,360–22,920 mg/L, pH above 9, and high BOD and COD, which signal stagnant, contaminated water with low oxygen.
- Activists say the intertidal lakes are no longer flushed by the sea because tidal flow is blocked, with untreated sewage seen entering from the Belapur–Vashi stretch near the NRI complex.
- Flamingos, which feed at these Nerul sites that support the Ramsar-listed Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, have not arrived this season during their usual November–May stay.
- The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has collected its own samples and says it will act after analysis, as officials cite wetland rules that ban untreated discharge and dumping.