Alarmed by the rising pollution levels and environmental damage caused by rampant quarrying activities, the Thane Collectorate has launched a drive against errant stone quarries across the district.
Alarmed by the rising pollution levels and environmental damage caused by rampant quarrying activities, the Thane Collectorate has launched a drive against errant stone quarries across the district. Of the 15 quarries surveyed by the district mining department in the past one week, as many as eight were found to be flouting the prescribed norms and the process for their closure has been initiated.
From excessive mining and deforestation to deviation from technical guidelines and non-maintenance of records, the quarries have been found to be delinquent on various parameters. “We are sending out notices to all the errant quarries as the first step towards cancellation of their leases,” said district mining officer Prashant Kore, adding that the drive will continue till December 26 and cover each stone quarry across the district.
The drive comes as a major relief for the residents of Navi Mumbai-particularly those living along the Thane-Belapur road from Ghansoli to Vashi, and have been bearing the brunt of air pollution caused by the heavy quarrying activity in the region.
“The suspended particulate matter (SPM) from the quarries is polluting the air in Navi Mumbai and has been posing a major health hazard to the local residents,” said Dr Nitin Yeole, a resident of Koparkhairane, adding that shutting down of the quarries will go a long way in curbing the incidence of breathing-related ailments in the node.
The campaign against the errant quarries gained momentum last month, when Govind Gunjalkar, a member of the district planning committee highlighted during the meeting on November 4 how the illegal quarries are severely damaging environment across the district, particularly in Vasai-Virar belt. A resolution was passed to conduct a survey of all the quarries and initiate punitive action against the quarries found flouting the norms.
“Not only will we initiate action against the local quarries, but the findings of the drive will be shared with the state pollution control board and the Centre’s mining department for expanding the scope of the drive and protecting the environment,” said Gunjalkar.
There are more than 250 stone quarries operating across Thane district. While 80 are in Navi Mumbai, 76 in Bhiwandi and the rest spread across areas of Thane, Kalyan and Ambarnath. As many as 15 quarries in Navi Mumbai are on forest land, causing maximum damage to the environment.
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