Navi Mumbai: The 289-hectare Panje-Dongari wetland in Uran, regarded by environmentalists as Maharashtra’s largest intertidal wetland, has moved a significant step closer to securing legal protection after the Raigad district administration completed a long-awaited ground verification process, environmental groups said. The development is being seen as a major milestone in the years-long campaign by conservationists to protect the ecologically sensitive wetland from reclamati

The future of prosperity will be defined not just by economic growth, but the health of societies and ecosystems. What if the fastest-growing economies are also those that are losing ground for prosperity? It is a paradox of our lifetime. While the nations have been celebrating the growth in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expansion of industries and record investment, the millions still face poor health, environmental degradation, social inequality and declining quality

Greens send SOS to CM Navi Mumbai: Environmental groups and residents have urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to immediately intervene and halt what they describe as relentless hill blasting for a real estate project in Kharghar, warning that continued excavation could cause irreversible ecological damage and heighten the risk of landslides during the ongoing monsoon. In a representation submitted to the Chief Minister, the NatConnect Foundation and the Save Kharghar Ecol

The uneven march of the southwest monsoon is once again exposing the fragility of rain-fed agriculture. The southwest monsoon has never been an equal-opportunity visitor. This year it has arrived with a familiar paradox. While Konkan, Mumbai and large parts of western Maharashtra have been inundated by torrential rain, Marathwada remains trapped in a frustrating cycle of scattered showers followed by long dry spells. For a region where agriculture depends overwhelmingly on th

Commuters navigate a waterlogged road after heavy rainfall at Vasai-Virar on Wednesday. Pic: PTI Mumbai: Belying gloomy forecasts of a potentially devastating monsoon 2026 season, a ‘neutral’ Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) – an ocean-atmosphere phenomena – may have helped soften the impact of a brutal El Nino over the sub-continent. As reported by ‘The Perfect Voice’ (May 31), a ‘very strong’ El Nino threatened to overshadow the rainy season with erratic rains, uneven spread, heat

Waste pickers are not a burden on cities—they are among their most valuable environmental service providers. Last week's article examined how exclusionary policies continue to undermine the livelihoods of waste pickers despite their indispensable contribution to urban waste management. However, exclusion is not the only story. Across India, waste pickers have shown that when they organise, they can secure recognition, protect their rights, and become valued partners in buildi

As Maharashtra accelerates its industrial expansion, a debate over a PFAS-linked chemical plant in Ratnagiri compels politicians to face a difficult question: Can economic growth be achieved without compromising environmental security? Every industrial success story raises a similar question: who will pay the environmental bill of such growth? The issue has recently taken on a new urgency in Ratnagiri, with local residents and environmental groups protesting allegations tha

The delayed monsoon is a reminder that the choices we make today about development and the environment will shape the climate inherited by future generations. Mumbai is experiencing an unusually delayed monsoon this year, accompanied by prolonged spells of extreme heat and humidity. Across many parts of India, rainfall patterns have become increasingly erratic. While some regions receive intense cloudbursts, others face long dry spells. This raises an important question: Are

Mumbai: As Mumbai grapples with rising temperatures, extreme rainfall, coastal flooding and rapid urbanisation, the proposed Flamingo Blue Carbon Urban Complex is set to become one of the centrepieces of Mumbai Climate Week (MCW) 2027, positioning the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as a global example of how biodiversity conservation can be integrated with climate action. Scheduled to be held in February 2027, the event will bring together environmental organisations, policymaker

Last week's article highlighted how exclusionary policies continue to undermine the livelihoods of waste pickers despite their vital contribution to urban waste management. Yet, there are also inspiring examples of how waste pickers have organised to secure recognition, protect their rights, and transform public perceptions. One of the earliest and most influential is the Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP). Exclusion Costs In 2019, the Bengaluru city administration

India's relationship with water is marked by a striking contradiction. A few summers ago, while travelling through rural Rajasthan, I witnessed an elderly woman struggling to draw water from a hand pump beneath a neem tree. After several attempts, a faint trickle finally emerged, and her face lit up with relief. At that very moment, dark monsoon clouds were gathering on the horizon, preparing to bring torrential rains across the country. The scene captured a paradox that defi

Navi Mumbai: Fresh scientific tests have raised serious concerns over the deteriorating health of DPS Flamingo Lake at Nerul in Navi Mumbai with polluted creek water entering the wetland during high tides emerging as a major threat to the fragile ecosystem that forms part of the Ramsar-listed Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS). The latest laboratory analysis of water collected from the tidal inflow channel has revealed contamination levels far exceeding permissible standar

The workers who have sustained urban recycling systems for decades remain excluded from the benefits of the very circular economy they helped build. In continuation of my last week’s article, the introduction and subsequent strengthening of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework were expected to create significant opportunities for waste pickers. These workers already recover and channel a substantial proportion of post-consumer plastic waste into recycling stre

The world today stands at a critical environmental crossroads. Climate change, rising temperatures, air pollution, deforestation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and increasing natural disasters are no longer distant concerns-they are realities affecting communities across every continent. India, too, is witnessing these environmental changes through irregular rainfall, prolonged heat waves, declining groundwater levels, loss of green cover, and growing pollution in both u

Strong regulations alone cannot solve plastic pollution if the people collecting and recovering the waste are left out of the system. After reading my earlier articles in this column outlining India’s legislative framework on plastic waste management, one could be forgiven for feeling reassured. The Government of India has, after all, introduced a comprehensive set of laws and regulations to address the growing plastic waste problem. One might therefore expect our roads, stre

Scientists call for urgent comprehensive strategy Mumbai: As the annual monsoon rains sweep across the Indian subcontinent, they bring essential respite from the summer heat but also unleash a devastating environmental hazard by flushing massive volumes of land-based plastic into the ocean. Scientific data unveiled during a national workshop on World Environment Day revealed that the monsoon acts as a potent accelerator for India’s marine pollution crisis. According to fi

Comprehensive regulations alone cannot solve the plastic waste crisis. Their success will depend on credible enforcement and accountability. Through previous articles in this series, we have learned that India's plastic waste management framework is primarily anchored by the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. These rules have been continuously strengthened through major amendments in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024-25, and most recently in April 2026. The latest amendments mark a s

Every year on June 5, the world observes World Environment Day—a global reminder that the future of humanity is inseparably linked with the future of nature. Yet this day should not remain limited to ceremonial tree plantations, public campaigns, or symbolic declarations. It must become an occasion for reflection, responsibility, and meaningful action. For decades, nature has sustained human civilization by providing clean air, water, fertile land, biodiversity, and climatic

For a greener future, environmental concern must become a daily practice rather than a symbolic annual ritual. AI generated image Every year on June 5, the world observes ‘World Environment Day’ with seminars, tree plantation drives, social media campaigns and solemn declarations about saving the planet. Governments issue statements, schoolchildren hold placards, and citizens post photographs of greenery and rivers. For a day, environmental concern becomes fashionable and urg

India’s battle against pollution cannot be won without confronting the social inequities hidden within the smog. Each winter, India’s cities disappear behind a familiar grey curtain. Schools are closed; flights are delayed while hospitals are full of respiratory patients Air pollution has become so common in India that it is like a season in itself. But beneath this ecological catastrophe lies another, less talked-about crisis. India’s pollution is very uneven. Not everyone b