Environmentalists Urge Maharashtra Govt To Halt Kharghar Hill Blasting Over Landslide Risks

Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists and citizen groups have urged the Maharashtra government to immediately halt hill blasting for a real estate project in Kharghar, alleging that continuous excavation is causing irreversible ecological damage and increasing the risk of landslides and mudslides during the monsoon.

In a memorandum submitted to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the NatConnect Foundation and the Save Kharghar Ecology Forum sought an immediate suspension of blasting and excavation activities, stating that the biodiversity-rich hills are an integral part of Navi Mumbai's ecological infrastructure.

"Ironically, the very project for which the hill is being blasted could itself face geotechnical risks if slope stability is compromised. We seem to have learnt little from the devastating landslides in Wayanad and Irshalwadi. The repeated slope failures witnessed during the Char Dham highway project should also serve as a stark reminder of the consequences of reckless hill cutting and blasting," NatConnect director B N Kumar said.

The organisations said the Kharghar hills function as natural water catchments, groundwater recharge zones, biodiversity habitats and climate buffers for the rapidly urbanising node. They warned that continued destruction of the hill slopes would permanently damage an ecosystem that cannot be recreated.

"Kharghar's hills are part of Navi Mumbai's ecological life-support system. We have already witnessed extensive damage from earlier quarrying. Allowing fresh blasting to continue will permanently destroy a landscape that can never be recreated," said B N Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation.

The activists pointed out that the current excavation follows years of quarrying behind the Tata Memorial Hospital, which had already scarred large sections of the hill range. Instead of restoring the damaged terrain, another portion of the hill is now being cut and blasted for a real estate project, they alleged.

Jyoti Nair, convenor of the Save Kharghar Ecology Forum, claimed that blasting has continued despite heavy monsoon rainfall.

"Blasting has continued unabated despite heavy monsoon rains, giving the impression that there is a rush to flatten the hills before effective intervention can take place. Every day of delay means more irreversible damage," Nair, whjo is also a green building and sustainability consultant, said.

Kumar said the hills perform vital ecological functions by absorbing rainfall, recharging groundwater, supporting native flora and fauna, regulating local temperatures and helping maintain soil stability.

"These hills are natural infrastructure. Once blasted away, no amount of engineering can replace the ecological services they provide," he said.

The memorandum states that residents have witnessed frequent blasting and rapid excavation over the past several days, with entire hill slopes being cut away despite persistent rains. The environmental groups warned that the continued destruction would weaken Navi Mumbai's resilience to extreme rainfall and unchecked urbanisation.

Kumar also cautioned that indiscriminate hill blasting could destabilise the slopes, weaken the natural geological structure and significantly increase the risk of landslides and mudslides during intense monsoon spells.

He warned that with climate change triggering increasingly intense rainfall events, disturbed hill slopes become far more vulnerable to catastrophic failures. "Nature has repeatedly demonstrated that once the geological balance of a hill is disturbed, the consequences can be devastating for both people and infrastructure. Development must not come at the cost of public safety," Kumar added.

The organisations have demanded an immediate halt to all blasting and excavation, an independent review of project approvals, verification of compliance with environmental safeguards, and a cumulative environmental impact assessment of successive hill-cutting activities in Kharghar. They said urgent government intervention is necessary to prevent irreversible ecological damage, minimise the risk of future disasters, and ensure sustainable urban development.

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