Clear waste dumpsite from Mithi’s bank within two weeks: NGT to BMC

Mumbai: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to clear within two weeks a construction waste dumpsite which has emerged on the bank of the Mithi River, in Aarey colony.

The dumpsite, near Tapeshwar Mandir, adjacent to the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), comprises around four lakh metric tonnes of waste towering at a height of 25 metres. The dump has also grown to be 850 metres long and 80 metres wide and is presently leaching pollutants into the river amid heavy rains, according to environmentalists.

The NGT’s direction came on Thursday in response to a petition by city-based NGO, Vanashakti, which had been drawing attention to the issue for several months, prior to approaching the Tribunal.

An inquiry by an NGT-appointed committee — comprising one member each from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Collector, Mumbai Suburban — found Vanashakti’s allegations to be true.

The committee was also tasked with quantifying “environmental damage in terms of water pollution, damage to ecology, impact on health of nearby residents, change in hydrology, etc.”.

The panel was also asked to assess the environmental compensation to be paid and remediation measures to be implemented, within two weeks.

However, the BMC has sought an additional time of four weeks to comply with this condition, which was allowed by the court.

“It is extremely worrying that despite constant patrolling by the police at the Aarey Milk Colony, such a huge debris dump has come up so close to the river. This entire stretch along the JVLR has been dumped in a manner that the horrendous amounts of dumping cannot be seen from the road,” said Stalin D, Vanashakti director.

“It needs to be removed as per the provisions of the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules. Whole trees on the bank of the river have been subsumed under this debris. It is so large that it will take authorities months to clear the rubble, but the work needs to start at the earliest,” added Stalin.