Mumbai: Ecomix plant draws flak from Wadala residents

The Ecomix concrete plant, which stands on revenue department land, near Bhakti Park in Wadala East on July 2. Pics/Kirti Surve Parade

Bhakti Park residents have raised their voices against a ready-mix concrete plant established about a year ago on revenue department land surrounded by mangroves in Wadala East. The plant, which belongs to the firm Ecomix, received a closure notice from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in May after it was found to have been set up in violation of norms.

About 230 sq m in size, the plant is situated on three plots adjoining the Eastern Freeway. Officials from the mangrove cell said there is a 50-m buffer zone between the plant and the mangroves as per a Bombay High Court order.

"The land used to be under the MMRDA [Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority] and then it was handed back to the collector's office," said an official from the mangrove cell. The plant has been supplying material for the redevelopment of BDD chawls.

Residents' reservations

"It is likely because it is for a government project that they were provided permission there; otherwise, usually, such companies are not allowed to come up around mangroves," the official said.

Kavita Malkani, who has been living in Bhakti Park since 2010, said residents started noticing it only in the past few months. "It poses a risk to the mangroves and to the health of the residents. We noticed a spike in dust after this plant came up. How did it receive permission?" she said.

She added, "There is constant construction work here, and it is never-ending. We are tired of poor air quality, although it has been a little better now because of the monsoon. Otherwise, you can smell the pollution."

Another resident, Rohit Keluskar, alleged that on-duty traffic police officials are allowing the movement of cement concrete trucks on the Eastern Freeway. "We started noticing the movement of a lot of trucks coming in through the freeway. A lot of that cement dust used to remain on the roads," he said.

Netizens' outrage

While no one has written a letter to the authorities, similar concerns were raised on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. "How has a cement-mixing plant come up on land which was covered by mangroves near Bhakti Park, next to the freeway?" posted X user Bombaystories.

MPCB's Regional Officer Sanjay Bhosale said Ecomix was served a closure notice in May, after which it started complying with the guidelines. "Dust was accumulating and the plant lacked a water sprinkling system," he said.

"They haven't been given permission to restart operations," he added.

Sunil Bhadange, executive engineer with MHADA's BDD building redevelopment implementation cell, said, "The land there has been provided to Tata Projects, and they are responsible for that, but they are taking all the precautions."

Other side

Amarjeet Sudan, from Tata Project's communication team, said, "TCC, a joint venture between Tata Projects, Capacite and CITIC, is working on the BDD chawl project in Worli for the project awarded by MHADA. The authority has provided land to TCC to set up a concrete-mix plant and TCC has handed over the said land to Ecomix to set up the RMC plant and supply concrete to the BDD project. They have received all the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities for its setup and operations. The Ecomix plant serves as the supplier for all BDD chawl projects in Mumbai, not the Worli project exclusively. The concrete supplied by Ecomix is part of its broader supply chain responsibilities across BDD projects."

Ecomix's lawyer Prakkash Rohira said, "My clients would further want to clarify that they are not in violation of any pollution control norms. We don't understand the concern regarding proximity to the mangroves or land selection as set out herein and the relevance to it."

230
sq m approx. size of plant