Pimpri-Chinchwad's Mula Riverfront Project A 'Disaster In Making', Warns Waterman Rajendra Singh; Cites Ecological Risk And Corruption Nexus

Many years ago, a national daily carried a striking half-page photograph on its front page. It showed how a powerful politician had brazenly diverted the course of a river in Himachal Pradesh to provide easy access to a resort he and his partner had built.

The exposé caused a storm in Parliament, then in session. The government acted swiftly by cancelling the resort’s licence. Ironically, the politician later rose to become the chief minister of a central Indian state. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Today, a similar tale of river tampering is unfolding under the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in Maharashtra. The Mula Riverfront Development (RFD) Project, first proposed under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, was shelved after strong opposition from environmentalists and concerned citizens. But with the Mahayuti government now at the helm, the controversial project has been revived, triggering widespread concern.

On Monday, renowned water conservationist Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the Waterman of India, visited the riverbed and issued a grim warning. He did not mince words. A river, he said, never forgets its path. Diverting its course is akin to inviting catastrophe.

Rivers, unlike people, do not forgive. When the natural flow is blocked, redirected or narrowed, they retaliate—in their own time and in their own devastating way. Singh called the RFD project a “disaster in the making”.

He reminded the authorities that no permit or political diktat can override the fundamental laws of nature. The real authority over the river, he insists, rests with the river itself. The warnings are not hypothetical. A similar construction spree on the banks of the Indrayani River in 2016 led to the municipality ordering the demolition of several bungalows.

Closer in time, and much graver in consequence, was the tragedy in Wayanad, Kerala, in July 2024. Massive landslides and flash floods, attributed by environmentalists to reckless development, killed 298 people. Yet, nobody seems willing to learn.

The RFD’s riverbed filling work, already up to 75 feet in some places, is a ticking ecological time bomb. Singh has urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance, especially since the National Green Tribunal has already flagged the issue.

The global trend is clear: In the US, many dams have been dismantled to restore rivers to their natural flow. India, on the other hand, continues to build over its rivers in the name of development. As Singh rightly puts it, this is not just a planning failure, it’s the unholy nexus of corrupt politicians, pliant officials, and greedy contractors. And when the river strikes back, it is the common people who pay the price.