NGT Seeks Fresh Affidavit From Raigad Collector On Quarrying Near ACTREC, Kharghar
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, July 25, 2026: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Raigad District Collector to file a separate affidavit clarifying whether any permissions were granted for quarrying activities near the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at Kharghar after 2020-21.
The direction came during the hearing of two connected matters concerning alleged illegal quarrying and a suo motu case initiated on the basis of a news report.
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The tribunal was hearing an application alleging illegal quarrying behind Tata Memorial Centre's ACTREC campus, as well as a suo motu case based on a media report claiming that no permissions had been granted for quarrying at the site. The bench comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and Expert Member Dr Sujit Kumar Bajpayee passed the order on July 21.
ACTREC Raises Safety Concerns
During the hearing, ACTREC filed an affidavit stating that blasting operations in the vicinity generate vibrations that have caused structural damage to buildings on its campus.
The institute further claimed that dust generated from the quarry frequently exceeds permissible limits, posing respiratory risks to staff as well as patients, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy. The tribunal directed that copies of the affidavit be supplied to all parties, who have been granted two weeks to file their responses.
MPCB Submits Findings
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), in its reply affidavit, informed the tribunal that a report from the Directorate of Geology and Mining showed that quarrying had taken place over about 14 hectares of Survey Nos. 355 and 356, while the remaining 35.27 hectares retained their natural hill topography.
The report also noted that stone crusher units were operational and that operators claimed the raw material being processed was sourced from authorised excavation work for the Navi Mumbai International Airport project.
However, the tribunal observed that the MPCB's affidavit did not clarify whether any quarrying permissions had been granted after 2020-21. It noted that the District Collector was the appropriate authority to furnish that information and directed the Collector to file a separate affidavit in the present proceedings.
Collector Directed To Respond
The tribunal also referred to an earlier affidavit filed by the District Collector in the connected matter, which stated that the quarry had valid permissions up to 2020-21 but that no further excavation approvals were found to have been granted thereafter.
It also recorded that the quarry site is approximately 1 to 1.1 kilometres from the ACTREC campus and that controlled blasting for the Kharghar-Turbhe Link Road project had been permitted through a police-issued No Objection Certificate.
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