Matheran's Charlotte Lake desilting work under a cloud again, entry of 1000 trucks doubted
Records show 1000 trucks removed silt from Matheran's Charlotte Lake, but where it went and whether the work is even complete remains unanswered.
The desilting of Charlotte Lake, which supplies water to Matheran town, remains unresolved. According to records of the municipal council's public works department, around 1000 trucks of silt were removed from the lake this summer. But there is no answer to where that silt was actually dumped.
Charlotte Lake was built during the British era. Earlier, the municipal council used to get silt removed every year by engaging labourers. In 2013, the Dr. Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan removed silt from the lake, but after that, silt kept accumulating in the lake until August 2026. The silt buildup had reduced the lake's water-holding capacity. This was the reason a fund of Rs 5 crore was sanctioned under the central government's AMRUT 2.0 scheme.
This work has been stalled since 2023, and Charlotte Lake has still not been completely desilted, nor has work on the lake's rejuvenation begun. Local residents allege that various games are being played to grab the funds meant for the lake's rejuvenation. The plan was that labourers would remove the silt from the lake, which would then be used for the town's roads. The then municipal engineer had recorded a report of removing around 1000 trucks of silt and sent a bill to the council. But when this bill came up for discussion at the council's general body meeting, objections were raised over the desilting work itself. As a result, that bill has still not been paid.
When questions were raised at the meeting, the then municipal engineer gave evasive answers. A few days later, the same municipal engineer got a transfer out of Matheran to another municipal council, after which demands were raised to investigate his records.
Local activist Rakesh Kokale says that if an engineer is getting a transfer out of a municipal council for fear of action, the matter is certainly suspicious and the urban development department should investigate it.
At present, Charlotte Lake is about 66 percent full of water. This is why there is a demand that the Matheran municipal council clearly state whether there is silt in the lake at all or not. To flush out the silt, the lake's water was released on August 10, but the silt did not flow out with the water. This continued for ten days, during which a water shortage arose, after which the release of water from the lake was stopped again.
Former Matheran municipal council president Manoj Khedkar raises the question that an answer should be given today on whether Charlotte Lake has been desilted or not, whether the lake's rejuvenation has happened or not, and whether the desilting work has been completed or not.
