FUTALA LAKE

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Context

SC restrains Maharashtra from continuing with construction at Futala Lake in Nagpur.

Details

Futala Lake 

• Futala Lakeis a lake in Nagpur in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The lake covers 60 acres (24 ha).
• Built by the Bhoslekings of Nagpur, the lake is known for its coloured fountains.
• Butification of the Lake: In the western area of Nagpur, ancient Futala Lake has existed for 200 years. In the absence of maintenance, the use of this prehistoric lake was limited to cattle washing only. It was therefore decided in 2003 to beautify this lake from NIT funds with equal aid from the state government.

Recent Developments

• A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Satish Chandra Sharma, took note of the submissions of senior advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan that an order of status quo on the ongoing construction was needed to save the water body.
• Observing that 'there are anyway few wetlands remaining in the country', the bench asked the authorities to refrain from continuing with the construction activities for the time being and sought to know as to when they will remove the concrete structures including viewers' gallery at the lake.
• Despite the Ministry of Environment and Forest declaring the lake a wetland, more than 7,000 tonnes of concrete had been dumped in the tank and construction work for a steel fountain in the middle of the lake was being done in the name of beautification of the place.
• 16,000 square feet of land along the lake was being converted into a viewer's gallery.
• The bench was hearing the plea of NGO 'Swaach Nagpur Abhiyaan'.
• Futala Lake is a wetland and large-scale construction there may destroy the ecosystem and aquatic life there.