Expressing their deep concern at stone quarrying in the vicinity of many skyscrapers at Bhayanderpada near Ghodbunder in Thane, green groups have rushed an SOS to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting his immediate intervention.
The buildings could cave in due to landslides which are imminent due to the constant quarrying, Watchdog Foundation director Adv Godfrey Pimenta said.
NetConnect Foundation too took up the issue with the CM, who also heads the Home Ministry, requesting him to step in and check gross violations.
Pimenta said the quarry is a violation of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order passed in September 2020, that prescribed the minimum distance of 200 metres between stone quarries and residential and public structures and 100 metres from blasting.
The Bhayandarpada site is barely 30 metres for a residential building, Pimenta said.
The blasting and quarry activity with high vibrations also affects the structural integrity of nearby skyscrapers, which could collapse like a pack of house of cards in the event of even minor seismic activity, he pointed out.
Noise and dust pollution are the other hazards that the people would face, NatConnect director B N Kumar said.
The activists, therefore, called for an immediate official inspection of the site, order stop-work notice to the quarry, launch legal proceedings against those responsible for the violations and ensure the safety and well-being of the residents by taking necessary preventive measures.
The quarry ought to have taken a host of clearances and the government needs to check this and violations of the conditions stipulated in the permissions granted.
