Unregulated stone quarrying on the Kharghar Hills behind the Tata Cancer Hospital has triggered serious structural damage to buildings on the hospital campus and is putting the lives of vulnerable cancer patients at risk.
Concerned, the centre has made an urgent appeal to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to halt the illegal quarrying activities immediately.
In a strongly worded letter, Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Director of ACTREC highlighted how blasting operations and deep drilling in the northwest hill near the hospital have led to the destruction of green cover, excavation of multiple pits, and intense noise and dust pollution. “The blasting not only compromises air quality but also directly endangers patients undergoing sensitive treatments like bone marrow transplants and proton therapy,” he warned.
The illegal activities have already caused visible structural damage. “Buildings constructed 25 years ago within the ACTREC campus are now showing cracked beams and slabs. Rainwater seepage and fungal growth in cleanrooms are posing additional threats to patient care,” Dr. Chaturvedi stated. He also noted that highly sensitive medical equipment, which requires a dust-free environment, is under constant threat due to airborne particulates from the quarrying.
Further compounding the crisis, Right to Information (RTI) data obtained by the environmental group NatConnect Foundation revealed that the quarrying operations have no official permissions. Panvel Tahsildar’s office confirmed that no government approvals were granted for the activity behind the hospital.
Environmentalist B N Kumar, director of NatConnect, noted that the quarry also lacks mandatory environmental clearance, in violation of a 2018 National Green Tribunal (NGT) order regarding Parsik Hills.
Despite the monsoon season, blasting and crushing have continued unabated. The dust generated from these activities now blankets surrounding residential areas, including sectors 22, 30, and 35, and even infiltrates the hospital’s sterile zones. “This is a matter of grave concern for immuno compromised patients,” Dr. Chaturvedi said.
Moreover, the quarry lies dangerously close to the Pandavkada Waterfalls, an eco-tourism site, and near the under-construction Kharghar-Turbhe tunnel. Trucks ferrying stone from the site are frequently seen on the roads, adding to air and noise pollution, said Jyoti Nadkarni from the Kharghar Hill and Wetlands Forum.
With biodiversity under threat and a once-thriving hill nearly erased, Dr. Chaturvedi urged the state government to take swift action to shut down the illegal operations and explore sustainable alternatives. “Preserving patient health, safeguarding the environment, and protecting the structural integrity of our facility must be a collective priority,” he concluded.
