The Supreme Court has issued notices to the State Government and its assorted departments connected a petition filed by the residents of Chinchavli colony located successful the ecologically delicate Ambernath portion of Thane district. The residents person challenged the Bombay High Court’s July 1, 2025, bid successful an implicit ₹190-crore illegal quarrying lawsuit wrong the Matheran Eco-Sensitive Zone (MESZ) for astir 2 decades.
The apex court, portion proceeding the plea, directed notices to beryllium made returnable successful six weeks. It besides permitted the petitioners to service arsenic the lasting counsel for the respondents. The respondents who are served notices include: Vishvanath Ramchandra Panvelkar of Laxmi Stone Industries, State Environment Department, Forest Department, territory collector, tehsildar and police.
The bid said, “Issue notice, returnable successful six weeks. In summation to the accustomed mode, liberty is granted to the petitioners to service the lasting counsel for the respondents. Ms. Anagha S. Desai, learned Advocate connected Record, who appears connected caveat, waives announcement connected behalf of the responsive no.9. She is astatine liberty to record the antagonistic affidavit.”
The petition has been filed by Nandakumar Waman Pawar (63), an biology activist, and Bhagawan Walku Waraghada (30), a tribal nonmigratory of Chinchavli. They contend that portion the Bombay High Court acknowledged violations and ordered betterment of implicit ₹190 crore from the quarry operator, it failed to adjudicate connected their demands for cancellation of the quarry lease, ecological restoration of the mined landscape, biology compensation for residents, and accountability of authorities regulatory agencies.
The Bombay High Court, successful its judgment, had noted that quarrying extended acold beyond the permitted area, from 4 hectares to astir 10 hectares — wrong the MESZ. It directed the Maharashtra authorities to retrieve ₹10.71 crore for excess excavation nether the mining lease and ₹179.58 crore for mining extracurricular the permissible boundary. The seat of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V. Marne dismissed the PIL, however, connected grounds of hold since the lease dated backmost to 2009, holding that betterment proceedings had already addressed the grievance.
Petitioners reason that the High Court ruling amounts to “incomplete justice” arsenic monetary betterment nether the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC) cannot substitute the remedies required nether the Environment Protection Act, 1986, including ecological restoration, appraisal of biology compensation, deterrent sanctions against violators, and a court-monitored enquiry into regulatory complicity.
“By declining to regularisation connected these pleas, the High Court has precluded the anticipation of aboriginal redress nether the rule of constructive res judicata,” Mr. Waraghada said, adding that residents’ cardinal rights to a cleanable and harmless situation stay violated.
The petition highlights the long-standing impacts of quarrying successful Chinchavli, structural cracks successful homes owed to blasting, contamination of aerial and water, risks of landslides from hill-cutting, and wellness complications among residents. Despite the MESZ notification of 2003, prohibiting quarrying astir Matheran elevation station, the quarry has operated since 2009 with repeated lease renewals and regulatory approvals.
Mr. Pawar said, “It is besides a nonaccomplishment of gross to the government. In 2018, a akin lawsuit was seen successful the Parsik Hills chromatic quarries, wherever 94 quarries were stalled aft the district-level Environment Impact Assessment Committee recovered that against the permitted 138 hectares, astir 264 hectares had been mined — an excess of astir 126 hectares illegally. This intelligibly reflects the nexus among governmental leaders, quarry operators, and authorities agencies, who conveniently disregard specified violations for evident reasons. Such lapses connected the portion of governing agencies request to beryllium corrected.”
The Supreme Court is expected to analyse whether the High Court erred successful treating punishment betterment arsenic capable remedy successful a lawsuit involving astir 2 decades of amerciable mining wrong a protected ecological zone. The substance volition present beryllium taken up aft six weeks.
