Maharashtra: Karjat riverbed mining to be checked, Raigad district admin promises greens

Raigad: Responding to complaints against illegal blasting of river banks and hillsides in Karjat taluka, the Raigad district administration has assured an environment group that authorities will ensure that the incidents do not recur.

Following media reports in May this year, environment watchdog NatConnect Foundation has brought to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis the news about a series of illegal use of explosives, including crude bombs and gelatine sticks, in Karjat taluka's rural areas for extracting earth and rocks from riverbanks and hillsides.

Locals said a resident's complaint against illegal quarrying in Bhaktawadi and Shingdol-Ambevali areas led to retaliatory action, NatConnect Director B N Kumar informed the CM quoting media reports.

Quarry operators detonated two bombs near the complainant's residence, causing windows to shake. Environmentalists warned such illegal activities will also damage biodiversity.

The Chief Minister’s Office referred the issue to the Raigad Collector and NatConnect followed up seeking information, via the Right To Action (RTI) Act route, on the action taken on CM’s mail.

The collector’s office in turn asked Karjat Tahsildar to investigate.

Dhananjay Jadhav, the Tahsildar and Executive Magistrate, now responded to NatConnect stating that his officials inspected the river site which was full of water due to the monsoon rains.

“Since the monsoon has set in and the river is in full flow, one could not notice any blasts,” Jadhav informed and assured Kumar that the administration would definitely take action against culprits if the mining comes to its notice.

According to a local activist, members of two local communities are primarily responsible for using explosives and heavy machinery to extract stones and rocks from these areas. Illegal activities resulted in the felling of mature trees to create access paths for JCBs to reach river banks for soil excavation illegally.

The people say the continuous blasts have also adversely impacted the water level and quality in the river. The water is flowing into the holes created by the blasts, NatConnect said in its complaint to the government.

It is also environmentally not sound to keep blasting the river banks bottoms, Kumar pointed out.

Karjat river bank mining.