NGT seeks Futala revival plan as Nagpur lakes gasp for life

Nagpur: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to submit a structured cleaning and revival plan for Futala lake after water quality in the city's major lakes deteriorated and waterweed growth increased sharply, the Maharashtra legislative council was informed on Monday.DyCM Eknath Shinde, replying to a starred question, confirmed that waterweed growth rose significantly in Ambazari lake and that water quality fell to some extent in prominent lakes across Nagpur. NMC continuously carried out weed removal operations, Shinde said, and the civic body is now seeking technical support from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri), Nagpur, for a permanent solution.
The NGT's directive came at a hearing held on Feb 3, 2026, where the tribunal asked NMC to place a detailed restoration and cleaning plan on record for Futala. NMC already completed the first phase of its beautification project at the lake, which covered deepening of the lake bed, installation of recharge shafts, and boundary and greening work. To address Futala's sewage problem specifically, a pipeline is being laid in the Kashmiri Basti area to prevent drainage overflow from entering the lake.On the question of industrial pollution, Shinde clarified that industrial effluents are not directly discharged into the lakes. However, action is taken against sewage violations from residential areas falling within MIDC zones that drain into the water bodies. NMC's nuisance detection squad imposes penalties on those found dumping waste into the lakes, and prohibition orders are in force against such dumping.The combined sewage treatment capacity of NMC and Nagpur Improvement Trust currently stands at 423.5 million litres per day. NMC accounts for 360MLD across its treatment plants, while NIT contributes 63.5MLD. Officials said this capacity is being utilised to reduce untreated sewage reaching the lakes, the govt informed the council.The reply came in response to a starred question raised by MLCs Parinay Fuke, Pravin Darekar, Uma Khapre and Sadashiv Khot, who flagged the growing pollution in Ambazari, Futala and Sonegaon lakes and questioned the effectiveness of spending crores on beautification while core pollution problems remained unaddressed. NMC is expected to place the Futala restoration plan before the tribunal at the next scheduled hearing.