Maharashtra Forest Department moves to expand DPS Flamingo Lake protection to 36 hectares

Navi Mumbai: The Maharashtra Forest Department moved to enlarge the DPS Flamingo Lake Conservation Reserve area to 36 hectares from the earlier proposed 12 hectares, a step conservationists said could effectively checkmate Cidco's controversial realty plans for the ecologically sensitive wetland. The revised proposal awaited the final Govt Resolution (GR) and substantially increased the protected footprint around the lake, official documents reviewed by TOI showed. Conservationists welcomed the move and urged the state to fast-track the GR, which has been pending ever since the announcement made by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to give the wetland a protective shield. NGO NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar said flamingos and other migratory birds depend not merely on open water, but on feeding grounds, roosting areas, mangroves and undisturbed tidal habitats around the lake. The development assumed added significance as Cidco earlier pegged the real estate value of the DPS Flamingo Lake land parcel at around Rs 3,600 crore. According to the latest georeferenced map prepared for the proposed reserve in Karave village, the total protected area was calculated at 36.8784 hectares. This included 9.3085 hectares of waterbody, 6.2416 hectares of dense mangrove forest, 2.7018 hectares of creek area, 0.4404 hectares of mudflat, and 18.1861 hectares of access road and surrounding lake area.