Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists Call For Ban On All Quarries Near Landslide-Hit Irsalwadi

Quickly responding to green groups’ demand for a halt on mining of the hills in view of the Irsalwadi landslide, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the revenue department to look into the issue.

Stating that the Irsalwadi landslide tragedy is a wake-up call, environmentalists have called for an immediate ban on all quarries across the hills and a thorough study of the eco-sensitive areas such as the Raigad and Thane districts.

"The CMO responded within four hours and sent out an email to Dr Rajgopal Devara, Principal Secretary Revenue, asking him to look into the issue and take further action,” NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar said.

The environmental group said it will follow up with the Government as the continuous and high-intensity blasts have a far-reaching impact in terms of loosening the soil on the hill slopes which could cause landslides.

A number of quarries are functional at various places in Raigad district and it is high time that a dedicated Hill Development Regulatory Authority is formed to check indiscriminate mining, NatConnect said.

“We, environment lovers, have been cautioning against blasting of hills, deforestation and unregulated development on the hills across the State,” Kumar said.

NatConnect also called for a thorough study of the soil conditions across the hills with the help of the IIT/Geological Survey of India. The government must quickly study the ecological damage due to the blasting of the hills, said Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishtan.

Excessive rainfall may not be the only factor

“Undoubtedly, the torrential rainfall has contributed to the landslide. But the previous damage and loosening of the soil due to mining and deforestation and extreme heat could have added to the woes,” Pawar said.

The government needs to check the situation at all such sites in Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Thane, Uran and other quarry sites, the green groups said and called for checking the seismic impact of blasts at all hills and construction sites such as the Navi Mumbai International Airport. They drew the government’s attention to landslide-prone sites such as Parsik Hills, Yeoor Hills, and Kharghar Hills.

Hills and mountains must be left alone and any kind of development and destruction of trees should not be permitted on and around such ecologically sensitive areas, Pawar said. The Adivasi and other families in the eco-sensitive zones could be rehabilitated close to their existing habitats under projects such as PM Awaas Yojana, Kumar suggested.