The construction on a ready mix concrete (RMC) plant at a quarry on Parsik Hill has raised  eyebrows as such work is not permitted in forest areas. According to the NGO Nat Connect Foundation, the Forest Department has given over 138 hectares meant for quarrying on Parsik Hill to CIDCO, for resettling Project Affected People (PAP) for lands taken over 50 years ago for the development of Navi Mumbai. The NGO also claimed that the quarrying has been stopped for five years following a ruling by the National Green Tribunal stipulating environmental clearance for digging the hills.

“While the machines at 102 quarries have fallen silent, the work on an RMC plant at the M G Nagar quarry site has caught the attention of environmentalists,” said B N Kumar, director of the NatConnect Foundation.

Terming it a very serious issue, Kumar has questioned the Forest Department on how such an activity could be permitted. He also claimed that he has complained to the chief minister asking him to look into the construction of a concrete structure there, and order a survey of all the quarries to check for any more violations. According to Kumar, the workers on the site said stones and cement would be brought in from out and mixed there.

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“This is utter nonsense,” said Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratishthan, which along with NatConnect had launched the Save Parsik Hills campaign against the quarries polluting the city. “The Forest Department’s order while allowing the quarries then was very clear, and no other activity should be permitted,” Pawar said.

Both environmentalists have expressed shock that the activity happening in broad daylight has so far gone unnoticed by the authorities. “The hills have become weak due to the continuous blasting, and the ecology and biodiversity of the belt have suffered a big loss. Whoever is permitting the RMC and other activities is playing with nature,” said Vishnu Joshi of the Parsik Greens Forum.

Environmentalists have also wondered if the RMC plant is a precursor to the resumption of quarrying, which has been opposed tooth and nail by many, including the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which in fact filed an affidavit to this effect at the NGT five years ago. A forest official said the area had been given to CIDCO for the limited purpose of quarrying, which stopped after the NGT ruling.

“Forest teams will check if there are any violations, and we shall take it up with CIDCO,” the official said, requesting not to be quoted. NatConnect has taken up the issue with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change, seeking its intervention. Despite repeated calls to CIDCO officials, no one was available for comment.