Illegal quarrying at Kharghar
Credit: Special arrangement
Navi Mumbai: Upset with the continued silence of senior officials over alleged illegal quarrying behind the Tata Cancer Hospital at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, the National Green Tribunal has escalated the matter to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary.
The NGT’s Western Zonal Bench, at its last hearing on December 5, expressed displeasure at the failure of the Raigad District Collector and the Director of Geology & Mining to file replies despite repeated directions.
In the order uploaded on December 20, the Bench, comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh (judicial member) and Dr. Sujit Kumar Bajpayee (expert member), directed the tribunal’s Registrar to formally write to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, seeking his intervention to ensure the officials’ presence and submission of their affidavits at the next hearing on February 16, 2026.
The case relates to allegations of illegal quarrying behind the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), popularly known as the Tata Cancer Hospital. The NGT has clubbed two original applications—one filed by NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar and another taken up suo motu based on media reports—and fixed the next hearing for February 12, 2026.
In earlier hearings, the Bench noted Kumar's serious concerns over dust emissions, blasting and ground vibrations in close proximity to a specialised cancer care and research facility. It recorded submissions that quarry operations could imperil vulnerable cancer patients, disrupt sensitive radiological and research equipment, and potentially weaken hospital structures.
The issue gained momentum after multiple Right to Information (RTI) responses obtained by NatConnect Foundation indicated that the quarry has no legal approvals. Both CIDCO and the Maharashtra Environment Department, in separate RTI replies, confirmed that no permissions had been granted for quarrying at the site. Kumar presented these proofs to the NGT Bench.
Earlier, RTI responses from the Raigad district administration itself also acknowledged the absence of any valid licence—prompting the NGT’s Principal Bench to take suo motu cognisance in July and transfer the matter to the Western Zonal Bench.
In his application, Kumar has sought an immediate halt to quarrying and stone-crushing activities, citing RTI information from ACTREC—an institution under the Department of Atomic Energy—that highlighted risks to high-precision medical and research equipment. The plea also relied on a Supreme Court of India ruling mandating prior environmental clearance even for mining activities below five hectares, contending that the requirement has been blatantly violated.
Kumar has written to the Prime Minister’s Office, following which the Union government sought a report from Maharashtra. The state, in turn, referred the issue back to the Raigad district administration.
The Bench has now warned that continued non-compliance could invite personal accountability.