MUMBAI: Large-scale redevelopment of buildings has not only resulted in severe air pollution across the city, but also led to another serious problem–illegal dumping of construction debris at street corners, open spaces and playgrounds.
The city is currently in the throes of a massive construction boom with around 6,000 sites being redeveloped.
Across the city, though, residents, civic activists and environmentalists have complained about heaps of debris being mysteriously deposited in their neighbourhoods.
These debris are mostly construction and demolition waste also referred to as C & D waste. This has raised serious concerns.
In Goregaon, for instance, residents of Dheeraj Valley housing complex, who had fought a three-year battle to get vanity vans removed from a 10,000-square-foot no development zone (NDZ) plot along Wallabhat river, have now discovered dumping of construction debris.
Local resident Jayshree Puthran said the dumping started soon after the vanity vans were asked to be cleared in June last year.
Advocate Abhilash Panickar, who lives in the vicinity, said a 20-foot pile of garbage on the open plot has resulted in dust pollution on Mohan Gokhale Road in Goregaon.
“Our entire complex is troubled due to this debris. This land is not designated or reserved as a garbage dump. Previously, this land used to be part of the Aarey boundary. Persons involved in dumping must be booked and action be taken against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code,” said Panickar. He alleged the civic authorities did not act even when the vanity pans were parked in the same plot illegally and only “woke up” after the matter got referred to the Lokayukta.
In Charkop’s Sector 8, environmentalist Mili Shetty said a mangrove land has been turned into a dumping spot. “Mangroves are being killed with construction debris dumped on them continuously. This illegal activity has increased sharply in the past one year as our area is also witnessing redevelopment of several buildings. The repercussions of such C & D waste is that it causes dust in the area, making residents feel extremely sick,” said Shetty.
In Andheri, too, Harshwardhan Patil, a resident of Fun Republic Road, has been fighting against unauthorised dumping of debris in an open plot opposite a 12-storey Chitralekha Heritage housing society where he resides.
“It was only last week that it was removed, and dumping stopped. However, I will not be surprised if it starts again as this has been the pattern in the past. They stop if there is pressure from locals and then start again. A fallout of this dumping has been that there are a lot of heavy vehicles coming into the area daily. The movement of these vehicles has badly damaged the roads. A very loud sound is also created when dumpers cross our buildings and since the activity continues till midnight, it is impossible to sleep,” said Patil.
There are complaints from south Mumbai too. A media professional residing in Kalachowki said he has been noticing debris dumping on the road till Cotton Green railway station where a cement concrete road is being built.
“As one side of the road is barricaded, debris is being dumped here by unknown persons. The authorities have access to thousands of CCTV cameras across the city and if they wish can catch the culprits,” he said, while pointing out how the road below the Eastern Freeway was also being used frequently to dump C & D waste as it was out of public glare.
In the eastern suburbs, Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association, said right at the time the BMC came out with guidelines for construction sites to control pollution in Powai in October last year, debris dumping started in an open plot. “Besides, the trucks carrying the debris were not even covered. Apart from construction waste, we are also witnessing ready mix concrete (RMC) plants spewing out a lot of cement dust, which the authorities are clearly turning a blind eye to,” said Makkar.
When Mumbai Mirror spoke to civic authorities, they acknowledged the problem and said they were actively working on addressing it.
Sanjoy Kabre, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of the solid waste department, said he was aware of citizens’ grievances. “In case of the dumping at Andheri’s Fun Republic Road, I did ask the local ward office to take immediate action. We do realise that citizens are hassled. We are working on ensuring the issue is resolved at the earliest,” he said.
