It's great honor to be one amongst very few individuals recognized as Wetlands Champions by Indian Government for conservation of wetlands. #voicesforwetlands
Navi Mumbai, India
Joined May 2015
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Honoured to be selected for Mumbai Warriors Award Winner for wetlands Conservation - Navi Mumbai on the occasion of World Environment Day by
SFC Environmental Awards for Species & Habitats Warriors-2026 .
#wetlandConservation #mumbaiHabitatswarrior #Worldenvironmentday2026
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
We have written to CM @Dev_Fadnavis urging that no firecracker be burst unless it meets the Environment (Protection) Act and the Bombay High Court's orders.
In 2006, every cracker we tested with MPCB broke the 125 dB limit, with the loudest at 144.9 dB. In 2026, the loudest reached 93 dB. Twenty years of awareness and enforcement have worked.
But 93 dB is still above the permitted limit in every zone of Mumbai, where even industrial zones allow only 75 dB by day.
The bigger gap now is on the box. Many crackers, including "green" ones, skip mandatory decibel levels, carry fake QR codes or none, and hide what's inside. Our tests found banned chemicals, including barium.
AQI has already hit 163 in Vile Parle West, Shivaji Nagar and around T2, a day before Diwali. The High Court has banned crackers on public roads and in all 110 Silence Zones. @CMOMaharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis @mybmc @mpcb_official
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Protecting public health isn't a festival favour. It's the government's first duty.
Quieter isn't the same as safe.
Mumbai's crackers have dropped from 144.9 dB to 93 dB in twenty years. That's progress. But 93 dB is still louder than the legal limit for every zone in this city, and the boxes still lie about what's inside. epaper.lokmat.com/articlepag… @mybmc @MumbaiPolice @mpcb_official @lokmat @Lungase_Sachin
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Diwali got quieter this year. It didn't get cleaner.
In our joint testing with MPCB at the RCF grounds in Chembur, no cracker crossed the 125 dB limit. Years of fighting for noise rules are finally paying off. But even "green" crackers still release smoke into a sky already grey with construction dust. Most boxes still don't show how loud they are, and many green crackers have no QR code to prove they're green.
We turned the volume down. Now let's clear the air. @mybmc @mpcb_official @lokmat @Lungase_Sachin @MumbaiPolice
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Testing at the stall is too late. The fix has to happen at the factory, before the box reaches your child's hands.
This Diwali, @mpcb_official and Awaaz Foundation tested 17 types of firecrackers. The market sells over 100.
Every untested firecracker is a promise nobody checked. Some come from companies the state doesn't even recognise.
Celebrate with lights, sweets and family. Not with decibels nobody measured. @mybmc @MumbaiPolice @ABPNews @abpmajhatv youtu.be/Cm03knAAcD4?si=RkW8…
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Wow. Brazen land grab attempt by Maharashtra Government. Fortunately the Bombay High Court has stepped in.
Never in India’s history has a state government been as passionate about real estate - as the current establishment.
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Some of the loudest products we tested with MPCB yesterday won't say what they're made of. Last year, most samples carried barium. This year, no label admits to it. Until lab tests confirm what's actually inside, a clean label is a claim, not proof.
Several brands still leave decibel limits off the box though not one of the 17 we tested with MPCB crossed 100. Twenty Diwalis ago, a single cracker hit 142.6 dB.
That didn't happen by itself. It took two decades of testing, petitions and people refusing to accept that celebration can be quieter.
We've turned the volume down. Now we need the truth on the label. freepressjournal.in/mumbai/d… @mybmc @mpcb_official @MumbaiPolice @fpjindia @Manojramkrish
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
A decade since three toddlers knocked on the Supreme Court’s doors for the right to breathe, we are still debating crackers instead of compliance.
My latest in @htTweets⬇️
#Opinion | "In September 2015, three toddlers, through their parents, moved the Supreme Court. The three were then between six and fourteen months old. They could not walk properly, let alone speak for themselves. Their parents were left with no choice but to approach the court because Delhi’s air was becoming increasingly unbreathable, and because they feared what it was doing to their children’s developing lungs."
"Their petition was extraordinary in its simplicity. They wanted the right to breathe clean air. The petitioners asked the Supreme Court to prohibit firecrackers, among several other measures to address Delhi’s growing pollution crisis. They argued that their lungs were still developing and that exposure to particulate matter and toxic substances could cause lasting damage."
(@BhavreenMK✍️)
Read More - hindustantimes.com/opinion/r…
📲 For News on the go, Download HT app. Click hindustantimes.com/s/14lS24m…
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
An appeal for silence has been silenced.
A court direction is not a suggestion. The question isn't who made a video. The question is who decides which court orders count.
A video asking Mumbai for a quieter, cleaner Diwali was made because the Bombay High Court directed it. It was taken down anyway. The Court ordered it restored. 24 hours later, it still isn't back.
This isn't about one video. The Noise Rules came into force in 2000. Court orders enforcing them have followed since 2003. Twenty-three years on, we are still waiting for them to be obeyed.
BMC owes the city an explanation, and the video, today. @mybmc @deespeak @vinivdvc
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Light the diyas. Skip the smoke. And let court orders be enforced without fear or favour.
A video asking Mumbai to celebrate Diwali without crackers was taken down. It broke no rule. It was made to follow one.
Yesterday, the Bombay High Court said what we have always believed. This is purely an environment issue. Everyone breathes the same air. And its order on firecrackers is not about one festival. It applies all 365 days.
I'm grateful the court has asked the BMC to put the video back up. But one question stays with me. If a public awareness message can disappear under pressure, what happens to every rule meant to protect our air, our health and our sleep? mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-ne…
@mybmc @mid_day @mpcb_official @deespeak @vinodkumarmenon
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Our ask stands: Before the lights come on, withdraw the regulations, consult the public, and study the impact.
Two, four or twenty, even one is one too many.
The Maritime Board's tender still covers 19 locations and 29 advertising structures, with licences of up to 10 years and CRZ clearances reportedly missing. LED light from floating billboards near Worli, the Sea Link and Carter Road can reach 40 metres underwater, where the marine food chain begins.
The Minister says it's only two. As if this was ever about arithmetic.
Trimming the plan doesn't change what it is. The 2026 regulations still open our coast to LED screens, laser shows and floating ads, with no scientific study of the harm to birds, mangroves, marine life or the people who live by the sea. exchange4media.com/out-of-ho… @e4mtweets @CMOMaharashtra @mybmc @mpcb_official @pencil_pusher1
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
A student risking her life just to board a Mumbai local and get to school. This should never be the price of education. Our children deserve a safer commute. Mumbai’s daily reality needs urgent attention.
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
The crux of the matter is this: can a politician reverse what the BMC is doing under court orders?
The Court itself has said celebrities should lend their voice pro bono to social messages. Dia Mirza, a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador who has long spoken for the environment, did exactly that. The debate moved to who said it. What was said is still the law.
Celebrate Diwali with light, not smoke. And let court orders be enforced without fear or favour.
Thank you, Bombay High Court for ordering Dia Mirza’s video to be re uploaded. msn.com/en-in/news/other/mum… @mybmc @deespeak @mid_day @AditiAlurkar
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
A public garden is NOT vacant land waiting for development..
In Nerul Navi Mumbai, Gen Z and residents across generations are opposing NMMC’s proposed underground parking beneath a garden full of trees…
DOCTRINE OF PUBLIC TRUST!..
NMMC is the custodian of our public gardens not their absolute owner…
Shame on you @NMMConline
@NMMCCommr request you cancel the tender floated for this work..
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Our CBSE boy Sarthak Sidhant strikes once again 👇
to the most respected finance minister. i have a doubt. please find time to answer me.
you say that the venue for a debate is the parliament.
you say that my home minister, amit shah has offered a special session to debate.
you say that if rahul gandhi - the leader of opposition, wants to debate my prime minister, he should come to the parliament.
ma'am, let's start by pointing out some facts.
jul 20 - the parliament session opens. narendra modi, the ever so hon'ble prime minister - addresses the media - outside the parliament. he asks for a fact-based debate.
jul 24 - Amit Shah's National Honour Bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha, by Nityanand Rai, who is MoS for home affairs. Jairam Ramesh asks "Where is the Cabinet Minister". This is present in the RS Transcript.
jul 29 - Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition - asks "why is the Home Minister not here today?". This is also present in the LS Transcript.
jul 30 - Rahul Gandhi asks "why Shah is so scared of coming to Parliament"
aug 4 - Amit Shah, is seen in the parliamentary complex. at an NDA Parliamentary Party Meeting. He Doesn't enter the house. as per reporting from Navbharat Live.
aug 6 - Mallikarjun Kharge, in Rajya Sabha, asks "Why is the Prime Minister not coming? Why is the Home Minister not coming?" as Per Kerala Kamudi - this is consistent with the RS transcript.
aug 11 - congress MP Manickam Tagore attacks the absent home minister. as per reporting by the ANI.
aug 12 - Amit Shah says to the media, "have been coming to Parliament regularly since the Session began; I sit in my chamber."
talking to the media, at around 12:30 PM, Amit Shah offered "If the Opposition wrote to the speaker, there would be a debate from 3 PM wednesday (12 aug - the same day) to 3 PM thursday (13 aug - the next day)
this was roughly a 2 hour window to submit the letter.
he further said "I will sit in the House; I will listen to everyone and respond to every point."
Rahul Gandhi said "We are not interested in listening to his lecture, Who shot those students? Who blinded that student? Who ordered the lathi charge?"
this referred to the Pellet Shots fired at the Student, Sahil Lochav. He asked about the Lathi Charge that happened in the protests on July 20th.
The Opposition wanted a statement from Shah about this, Shah wanted them to submit a letter to the speaker, in a window of roughly 2 hours - after not being present for 17 straight settings. with no recorded appearance.
aug 13 - Lok Sabha sits for 4 minutes. 11:00 AM to 11:04 AM. The National Song, Vande Mataram, is played. and then, the house is adjourned sine die. Both ever so honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah were present on these days. for the 4 minutes.
---
Respected Finance Minister Ma'am,
These were the facts I have pointed out. I have not said anything that was my own opinion. I have not framed the facts in a way that support any party. My facts were gathered by scraping Documents from the LS and RS portal, OCR'ing the PDFs, then parsing them and then Aggregating News Sources. - and pointing out facts from them. Cold, Hard, Records.
I have not asked any questions yet - which I will do now.
I am a human. I have evolved Pattern Seeking skills.
I spot a pattern here. I see that for the entirety of the Monsoon Session, Prime Minister Modi, and Home Minister Shah, did not utter a word on the record of the Lok Sabha. They were not present in the house except for the last 4 minutes, on the last day.
Shah says "He was sitting in his cabin",
Ma'am, I don't think debates happen when you sit alone in a cabin. It happens on the floor, where the other side can ask questions too.
I don't see a meaningful debate happening in an environment like the Parliament. I say this with utter disappointment.
If Parliament is the venue for debate, why did the two most senior members of the government not speak there once in 19 sittings? And why was the one offer to debate made to the press on the 18th day, with a deadline of a couple of hours?
Why are there "offers" even? I think it is your responsibility to be in debates because that is your entire job.
As you say, "Demanding answers also carries an obligation to hear them." -- Well, were Amit Shah or Narendra Modi, hearing the Questions being asked? They were not in the house even.
Please Answer my Doubts. I would be very obliged if you do so.
Regards,
Sarthak
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
@mybmcWardD, these illegalities are strung up all over Malabar Hill. Please remove, ASAP. cc: @TawdeRitu @mybmc
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Court itself acknowledges firecrackers cause air/noise pollution that particulate matter can remain suspended for days & that children/elderly & persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable.
Yet, once again, we are negotiating with public health instead of protecting it.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the Supreme Court's permission to burst green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari says, "This is really sad because, considering last year, this is pretty much a replica of last year's order, and we saw what happened. The Supreme Court itself has admitted that enforcement has been incredibly poor. Furthermore, decisions like this come far too late. Everything is already in the market, and we have already been hearing crackers for the last three to four days. In fact, we hear them throughout the whole year. Even though a ban was supposed to be in place year-round, crackers were burst non-stop for cricket matches, political rallies, and weddings. Instead of acknowledging this failure and improving the situation, we are repeating the same mistake. The massive spike in pollution that followed the fireworks last year is bound to happen again. This spike is particularly dangerous right now because the northwest winds are slowing down and becoming stagnant. As a result, all the particulate matter, dust, and PM2.5 will get trapped instead of dispersing like they normally do. This creates a massive burst of pollution, leaving us stuck under a toxic lid..."
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
This unravelled quickly. All the defaming posts against the home buyer have now been deleted.
The strategy to defame a disgruntled home buyer will rank as the dumbest campaign of this decade.
The Activist Home Buyer will Upgrade Indian Real Estate.
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Must compliment @varunsuhag for his courage in going all-in in this war over his "house arrest" at Trump Towers.
Most Indian buyers admit defeat against a builder before the battle has begun. And because they don't stand up, they keep getting trampling upon.
May his tribe grow
Sunil - Wetland Champion retweeted
Mumbai doesn't have a shortage of rules. It has a shortage of follow-through.
Here's the pattern nobody says out loud. In Mumbai, the courtroom has become the pollution control board, and citizens have become its inspectors.
• Air monitors at construction sites don't match CPCB's own SAMEER app. Now the monitors need monitoring.
• Even public notices waited for a judge's reminder.
• Citizens measured 110.8 dB on immersion day, not the authorities.
• Light orders from 1998 and 2018 are still ignored. Next up: billboards on the sea.
• A 2013 dumping ground case still awaits compliance, and the PoP phase-out may slip by three more years.
With this impromptu system, implementation lags for decades.
Every fix arrives only after someone drags the problem before a judge. That isn't a system. It's a rescue mission, every single time. @CMOMaharashtra @mybmc @mpcb_official @htTweets @karunaaa__
