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Mumbai: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on Monday served the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) with a legal notice over an effluent leak in Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS), warning the latter of legal action if urgent steps are not taken to plug the leak.

MIDC has been given seven days to comply with the directions, issued under relevant provisions of the Air Act and Water Act.

On May 21, HT had reported that an offshore pipeline carrying treated industrial waste from the MIDC’s Trans-Thane Creek (TTC) campus at Pawne, Navi Mumbai, was dislodged, and is pouring effluents into the sanctuary. Notably, while this has been happening, TCFS was last week recommended by the union environment ministry for Ramsar site certification. A Ramsar site is a wetland area designated to be of international importance – especially for water birds – under an intergovernmental environmental treaty known as the Ramsar Convention.

The pipeline in question has been operational since 2021 and was built to replace a 25-year-old channel to carry effluents from a treatment plant in Mahape into the deep sea, beyond the limit of Thane Creek, where it is discharged at an appropriate location depending on the capacity of the area to dilute the effluents. The effluent comes from the MIDC Trans-Thane Creek facility in Pawne, Navi Mumbai.

The MPCB’s notice to MIDC, a copy of which is with HT, has been signed by MPCB’s regional officer in Navi Mumbai, DB Patil. It notes that Patil, along with MIDC officials, made a visit to the affected site on May 31. “There are problems with proper operation and maintenance of the MIDC drainage system at various locations into the creek.. I have come to the conclusion that MIDC is not regularly operating and maintaining the drainage system into the creek area. (MIDC) is responsible for the pollution nuisance problem,” Patil’s directions.

MIDC, meanwhile, says it has identified the source of an effluent leak. On Monday, officials from the MIDC’s Trans-Thane Creek campus at Pawna said they have contracted an independent firm to plug the leak. Technicians visited the site on Friday, diving below the surface of the water and conducting a manual inspection of the dislodged pipeline.

“The same firm will carry out repairs. It will be done very soon, in a few days,” said RT Meshram, deputy engineer, MIDC-TTC. “It should be noted that the discharge is not continuous. It is only occurring at certain times when the alignment of the pipeline is shifted due to the flow of the water in the area,” he added.

Meanwhile, the state forest department’s mangrove cell in Mumbai, which is responsible for enforcing the mandate of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) in the TCFS, has filed a preliminary offence report against MIDC after lab tests commissioned by city-based environmentalist Stalin D showed high levels of pollution around the leak site.

Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forests (mangrove cell), said, “Water samples from the area will be sent for testing before further action is taken under the provisions of the Wildlife Act.” The POR against MIDC has been booked under Sections 29 and 32, which deal with the destruction of protected areas without permits and the use of injurious substances (in this case industrial effluents), respectively.

On May 30, Stalin collected two one-litre water samples close to the pipeline, where the effluent was most visible. The samples were tested for broad environmental parameters, including biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids, and acidity. While the pH values were within the permissible range, the other parameters indicated high levels of pollution. Meshram refuted this claim, saying, “The effluent is not coming from industries directly but is treated at our common effluent treatment plant first.”

“It is good to see officials finally taking action, but it has been over three weeks since we first drew their attention towards this disaster. While the Centre was recommending this site for Ramsar status, highly polluted effluents were being discharged into a prime flamingo habitat with no intervention. This is a very serious lapse in environmental governance,” said Stalin D.

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