Mumbai, Dec. 4 -- A committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal has recommended imposing a substantial financial penalty on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for failing to stop untreated sewage from entering Powai Lake. The joint committee has suggested a fine of Rs 5 lakh per month for each inlet through which sewage continues to flow, should the civic body violate a new action plan. This recommendation forms part of a report submitted to the NGT, which is hearing a case regarding the ongoing discharge of sewage into the lake.
The committee highlighted that the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had issued multiple directions to the BMC following a 2021 NGT order in a petition by a group called Vanashakti. These directives, ...