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MUMBAI: A civil investigation has found that tonnes of construction waste from nearly 2,000 redevelopment projects that were supposed to reach designated dumping sites never reached them, officials told Mumbai Mirror.Environmentalists said they suspect the waste might have been sold to the land mafia as it encroached on Mumbai’s mangrove and wetland areas.
The lid was blown off this large-scale environmental misstep when a review of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) records revealed that city builders had identified the same seven locations as designated dumping grounds for more than 2,000 redevelopment projects. “There was no way that so much rubble could fit in those seven spaces,” a senior official told the Mirror. “We then started an investigation in December and discovered that the debris was not going to the designated location.”
The official said the builders were arrested and the civic body has now made it mandatory for them to hand over all the debris to the official recycling plants in Dahisar and Kalyan. Further construction permits have been halted pending the signing of contracts between the erring developers and the two factories.
As per the BMC policy, a builder has to identify the site for debris disposal before getting permission for a redevelopment project.
The policy change has led to delays in obtaining a building permit. An official from the Civil Construction Proposals Department said: “Builders now have to enter into an agreement with the two factories on removing the rubble, which will take some time. During this period, we cannot grant permission for construction.” According to the data, around 400 to 500 projects have currently been halted due to this.
In recent years, most builders have been providing names of locations around Panvel and Khopoli in Raigad district for debris removal. “We saw many projects mentioning the same location for debris removal. This raised a red flag as there was no place to dump such a large amount of debris,” an official said. “When we investigated, we found that no debris had been dumped at these locations. We then withdrew permission,” the official added.
Anand Gupta, spokesperson of the Builder Association of India, said, “We welcome the BMC’s decision. But normally the builder appoints a contractor to clear the debris. Maybe these contractors have dumped the debris at other places, but this cannot happen without the cooperation of local BMC officials,” Gupta added.
Environmentalist Godfrey Pimenta, who had exposed illegal dumping in Aarey Colony in late 2025, said, “This is not just about dumping at a designated location and is linked to illegal slums and damage to the environment. In the western suburbs, illegal dumping took place in Malvani, Versova, isolated areas near the creek or in the mangroves.”
According to him, a cartel of contractors and the slum mafia control these operations. “After the rubble was dumped, we saw huts appearing at that location and we reported it,” Pimenta said, adding that the BMC must conduct a detailed study to stop this environmental degradation.
In November, Mirror reported large-scale dumping of mud and stones in forest areas of Aarey Colony’s eco-sensitive zone. Nearly 50 to 60 truckloads of debris were reportedly dumped at the site, raising fears of irreversible damage to the green landscape. There were also several cases in remote areas of Aarey Colony.
A retired BMC official, on condition of anonymity, said that about a year ago, civic officials discovered illegal dumping at the Mankhurd creek. On investigation, they found that the contractor was paid Rs 15,000-20,000 for each truck load. The contractor benefited immensely as the truck did not have to travel to Raigad while he was hit twice: for illegal dumping and for what he charged the builders to move the debris.
“Illegal dumping usually takes place in the mangroves or wetlands, which poses a major danger to the city. Since this area acts as rainwater storage ponds, mangroves act as a barrier between tidal waves and land. However, this dumping destroys these natural barriers, causing floods,” said environmentalist Rohit Joshi.
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