Activists accuse BMC, MMRDA of failing to act against multi-storey Marol building standing on no-development zone; activists claim that such constructions, which violate the buffer zone requirement, pose significant environmental and flood-related risks
An excavator removes silt from the Mithi river. File Pic/Nimesh Dave
Under the Development Plan of Mumbai 2034, a buffer zone was designated on either side of all four rivers of Mumbai, Mithi, Oshiwara, Dahisar and Poisar, serving as a detention basin to retain excess rainwater.
City-based activist Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of the NGO Watchdog Foundation, has raised concerns over a growing number of illegal constructions near rivers in recent years, warning that these structures could block water flow during heavy monsoon showers, creating a dangerous situation. He pointed out one such building in Marol, located right next to the Mithi River near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s Terminal 2. The structure has been under construction for over five years and is now nearly complete.
Activists claim that such constructions, which violate the buffer zone requirement, pose significant environmental and flood-related risks. After the floods of July 2005, the Dr Madhav Chitale Committee recommended strict flood mitigation measures, one of which was to maintain the 10-metre buffer area, which would be a no-development zone (NDZ).
Even after flood-like situations almost every year, the recommendations of the committee were ignored for the most part. Along the river Mithi, multiple such encroachments can be found, which could possibly lead to further flooding this year. With the early monsoon starting in Mumbai, the construction site in Marol already faced waterlogging due to its area being low-lying compared to the rest of the area.
“We had issues with water getting into the construction site last week when it rained. Two to three vehicles were stuck in the mud post the rains,” said a construction worker, requesting anonymity. Suspecting that the buildings were built with some officials’ knowledge, Pimenta wrote to the authorities at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), bringing to their attention the problem, stating, “Such a massive multi-storey building in the buffer zone of the Mithi river cannot be permitted without the collusion of officials of BMC and other government agencies.”
A 2018 report by the Supreme Court had also pointed out that despite all the data needed for creating a flood risk map having been collected, the map had not materialised. The report also highlighted how encroachment and pollution are leading to the current sad state of the river.
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