Illegal dumping of solid waste: Pollution board slaps Rs 10 crore fine on Thane Municipal Corporation

The MPCB officials said that the trash was dumped in land under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) category, causing destruction to mangrove cover from 2016 till 2023.

The board added that the TMC continued to break environmental standards as it failed to clear the waste even after being brought to its notice about illegal dumping.

The fine of Rs 10.2 crore also carries the extension of a two-year period, from 2023 to 2025, for the corporation’s inability to clear the piled-up debris from the site. The dumping at the site was taking place since 2015, according to the NGO Vanashakti Foundation.

The officials of the TMC did not comment on the fine.

The issue was initially flagged in 2023 when Vanashakti Foundation moved a petition before the NGT.

According to the petition, the land being occupied by TMC for dumping was within the CRZ and the activity of dumping had led to extreme environmental degradation, including the loss of mangrove cover.

After the petition, the TMC systematically transferred its dumping activities to another spot in the periphery of the city. Even after the relocation, the initial dumping ground in Diva was still not cleared.

“We have stated that consistent dumping during several years in a CRZ area not only breached environmental practices but also caused the destruction of essential coastal green cover. The waste consists of Thane’s municipal waste which has now started to enter the creek,” said Stalin D of Vanashakti.

The MPCB fine follows a site visit and reports that established the TMC continued to dump on the Diva site and had not made efforts to reclaim the location.