The Mutha River is a river in western Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It arises in the Western Ghats and flows eastward until it merges with the Mula River in the city of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. It has been dammed twice, first at the

Panshet Panshet Dam, also called Tanajisagar Dam, is a dam on the Ambi river, a tributary of the Mutha River, about southwest of the city of Pune in western India.The dam was constructed in late 1950s for irrigation and, along with three other dams near ...

Dam (on the

Ambi River Ambi or Ambi may refer to: * ''Ambi'' (film), a 2006 Indian Kannada film * AMBI, the Israel Stuttering Association * Ambi Subramaniam (born 1991), Indian-American violinist, pianist and singer * Ambi, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province ...

), used as a source of drinking water for Pune city and irrigation. The water released here is dammed again at

Khadakwasla Khadakwasla Dam is a dam on the Mutha River from the centre of the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. The dam created a reservoir known as Khadakwasla Lake which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs. In the vicinity of Khada ...

and is an important source of drinking water for Pune. One more dam has been built later on the Mutha river at Temghar. After merging with the Mula River in Pune, it flows on as the

Mula-Mutha River The Mula-Mutha is a river in India, formed by the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers in the city of Pune, which later meets the Bhima River, which itself later meets the Krishna River and finally emptying to the Bay of Bengal. The river ...

to join the

Bhima River The Bhima River (also known as Chandrabhaga River) is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before entering the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five k ...

. In 2014, the Government of Maharashtra announced that the

Pune Municipal Corporation The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC, IAST: Puṇe Mahānagarpālikā) is the civic body that governs the inner limits of Pune, India. It is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis, which is spread over an area of 48 ...

would build new Sewage treatment plants to ensure that no sewage would be dumped into the river.

Government documents, orders and court orders

The National Green Tribunal of India has the power to hear all cases relating to issues of the river under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977. Considering the serious nature of encroachments on the Mutha river, the NGT in its latest order on 23 July 2019 ordered a committee to be formed to look into these issues. The committee will comprise (i) the Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department (Government of Maharashtra), (ii) the District Collector, Pune, (iii) the Member Secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, (iv) the SEIAA, Maharashtra and (v) a Senior Scientist from the CPCB, Regional Office at Pune. The committee will decide the appropriate measures.
Mutha river in Pune at Onkareshwar 001

References

Rivers of Maharashtra Geography of Pune Rivers of India {{India-river-stub