NGT seeks inquiry into debris dumping near Mithi river

Mumbai: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought an investigation into dumping of construction debris along the banks of the Mithi river near Aarey Colony’s Tapeshwar Mandir, near the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR).

The NGT direction came in response to a petition by city-based NGO Vanashakti, which has been drawing attention to the issue for several months. Several hundred truckloads of debris have been discarded on the river’s bank, creating a wall over 70 feet in height, which environmentalists say poses a major flood risk.

The NGT on Monday instated a joint committee comprising one member each from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Collector, Mumbai Suburban.

The committee has been tasked with quantifying “environmental damage in the terms of water pollution, damage to ecology, impact on health of nearby residents, change in hydrology, etc.”, along with assessment of environmental compensation to be paid and remediation measures to be implemented, within two weeks.

“It is extremely worrying that despite constant patrolling by the police and the Aarey Milk Colony, such a huge debris dump has come up so close to the river. It needs to be removed at the earliest, as per provisions of the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules. Proper sites for collection and disposal of construction waste need to be provided by the municipal corporation. Whole trees on the banks of the river have been subsumed under this debris. When we raised the issue with various authorities in May, no action was taken,” Stalin D, Vanashakti director, said.