Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jan 24: Despite stricter pollution regulations and deteriorating air quality in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), three stone quarries continue to operate under environmental clearances issued over 20 years ago, according to forest department records obtained through RTI applications.

Activist Jeetendra Ghadge, founder of The Young Whistleblowers Foundation, filed the RTIs seeking details on quarry proposals involving forest land diversion under Thane division. The responses revealed that one quarry, covering 0.8 hectare, was initially approved on Dec 3, 2002, but received its final forest clearance only on Dec 1, 2021. The other two quarries, each nearly 1 hectare, were approved in 2002 and 2007 and got final nods in 2022. It remains unclear whether these quarries have been audited for compliance with current environmental standards.

Ghadge questioned the relevance of such outdated permissions in today’s high-pollution environment. “Air quality standards were far weaker in the early 2000s. Treating these old approvals as evergreen, without fresh environmental assessments, ignores the severity of Mumbai’s current air crisis,” he said.

While records indicate no trees were cut for these projects, environmentalists warned this narrow metric understates the overall impact. “Blasting, drilling, crushing, and the constant movement of trucks generate enormous dust, contributing directly to PM10 and PM2.5 pollution that residents are already breathing at unsafe levels,” Ghadge explained.

Quarrying also destabilises hill slopes and accelerates soil erosion, increasing risks of landslides and floods. The RTI findings prompted environmentalist Rajesh Ruparel to urge the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to audit all stone quarries in the MMR and issue stop-work notices to those violating air quality norms.

A senior state official defended the operations, stating that quarries are permitted only after basic clearances and that operators must surrender land for afforestation and pay Rs 10 lac per hectare. “For infrastructure projects like Navi Mumbai airport, Samruddhi and Vadodara-Mumbai expressways, and Vadhvan port, quarrying is essential, but not at the environment’s expense,” the official added.