Pollution Slowly Killing Pavana River

As Maharashtra’s Pavana River enters the Central Pollution Control Board’s Priority-1 list as the most polluted in India, a cascade of alarming data underscores the rapid degradation of a water body that once sustained communities, livelihoods and ecological balance.

With biochemical oxygen demand now exceeding 30 mg/l at frequent intervals—well beyond the safe threshold of 6 mg/l—the river that quenches 80 per cent of Pimpri Chinchwad’s drinking water supply is now dangerously close to ecological collapse. Despite this, authorities continue to drag their feet on implementing the promised sewage treatment infrastructure or clamping down on polluters along its banks.Once a serene watercourse flowing from Apti village in Lonavla to its junction with the Mula River, the Pavana now tells a grim story as it winds through urban Pimpri Chinchwad. It is here, after crossing Ravet, that the river begins to resemble a drain, choked with hyacinth, untreated domestic sewage, industrial effluents, and the decaying remnants of aquatic life. Activist-led monitoring initiatives regularly find hazardous concentrations of phosphorus, nitrates and phthalates, which are linked to the unchecked discharge from nearby industries and high-rises. Yet, neither the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board nor local bodies like PCMC and PMRDA have implemented effective deterrents or long-term remedial measures.

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The region’s industrial sprawl only exacerbates the crisis. Micro, small and medium enterprises—particularly in auto-repair, concrete mixing and surface treatment—often discharge waste into tributary nullahs that eventually empty into the Pavana. Larger industrial units reportedly exploit regulatory grey zones by using alternate discharge routes, thereby avoiding scrutiny altogether. The situation is further aggravated by the state’s sluggish progress on sewage treatment facilities. Of the 408 million litres of sewage generated daily in Pimpri Chinchwad, only 300 million litres are currently treated. Infrastructure expansion projects remain stuck in limbo, with new STPs worth 105 MLD still awaiting land clearance and funding approvals. Even existing plants reportedly underperform, failing to arrest the river’s steep decline.

The degradation of Pavana is not just an environmental issue—it is a lived crisis. Fisher families who once depended on the river now struggle with skin infections and a declining fish population, left with nothing but tilapia or dead fish floating ashore. In villages like Shirgaon, residents refuse to touch river water altogether. Amid this backdrop of official inaction, citizen groups continue to resist the decay, mapping the river’s pollution sources, discouraging Ganesh idol immersions, and manually clearing invasive weeds. Yet their efforts are dwarfed by systemic apathy and fragmented administrative oversight. The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which oversees a significant 38-kilometre stretch, has yet to even submit a formal sewage management plan.As the government prepares ambitious riverfront beautification schemes, many question their priorities. Environmentalists warn that such projects could spell the end of critical riparian forests and habitats for local fauna already suffering from dehydration and displacement.

While civic officials cite pending STP works and data collection exercises, environmental experts insist that urgent, decentralised action is needed to preserve what little remains of Pavana’s vitality. Without cross-agency accountability and strict enforcement, the river is at risk of becoming a textbook case of ecological failure brought about by unchecked urbanisation and administrative inertia.In a state known for its water scarcity and erratic monsoons, the slow death of a river like Pavana is a wake-up call. It represents more than environmental neglect—it is emblematic of a governance system still unwilling to prioritise sustainability over short-term expansion. If immediate, systemic interventions are not undertaken, the region risks losing not only a river but also the resilience of its people, their livelihoods and a sustainable urban future.

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Pollution Slowly Killing Pavana River