Mumbai: Nearly seven months after appointing a contractor for the ₹2,000-crore plus clean-up of the century-old Deonar landfill, the civic body has received a crucial nod from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), before work can begin on ground. With this what remains now is only a nod from the High Court and another Consent to Operate (CTO) from the Maharashtra Pollution Control board (MPCB) said officials. The MCZMA clearance, granted at the authority’s 195th meeting held on March 25, 2026, falls under the provisions of the CRZ Notification 2019 and comes with a comprehensive set of environmental safeguards.As per the approval, only the removal of legacy waste will be permitted within Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas, strictly for restoration purposes, while all project-related infrastructure and operations must be located outside CRZ limits. The authority has placed strong emphasis on protecting the coastal ecosystem, explicitly prohibiting mangrove cutting and directing the BMC to obtain prior approval from the Bombay High Court, since a portion of the site falls within a 50-metre mangrove buffer zone. The conditions also mandate that no solid or liquid waste be discharged into nearby creeklets or coastal stretches, and that leachate generated during the biomining process be treated through facilities set up beyond CRZ boundaries, with an aim of achieving zero liquid discharge. The contractor has also been instructed to ensure that natural streams, water bodies, and coastal geomorphology remain undisturbed, while also putting in place adequate measures to control dust emissions and odour during the remediation process. In addition, the BMC will have to establish a dedicated environmental monitoring mechanism involving experts in solid waste management, pollution control, and mangrove conservation, and implement the Environment Management Plan in line with the project’s impact assessment report. Permissions from the Mangrove Cell and other statutory authorities will also have to be secured before work is initiated. The Deonar dumping ground, spread over nearly 120 hectares, is one of the oldest and largest dumping grounds in India, receiving waste since 1927. Despite partial capping large portions of legacy waste continue to pose environmental and public health risks, including periodic fires, methane emissions and leachate seepage into nearby areas. Civic officials indicated that once all approvals, including those related to mangroves and court permissions, are in place, the project though could begin prior to monsoons but then it may not be possible to carry out any works during the rains. “During rains, the solid waste gathers moisture making it difficult to carry any kind of works. Although the bioremdidiation tender is inclusive of monsoons,” said a civic official. The contract period is set for three years, which includes the time for mobilisation and the monsoon period.

Mumbai: The large-scale cutting of trees at Godrej Garden in Vikhroli (West) hillside has shocked nature lovers, who have urged the BMC to immediately stop further axing and inquire into this green damage.According to government sources, a construction firm has received permission to cut over 180 trees and transplant 920 others for developmental works. Environmentalists alleged that since April 1, 50 huge trees — some of them over 60 years old — have been chopped along the route going towards Kailash Complex, Hiranandani.Environmentalist D Stalin of NGO Vanashakti said: “A formal complaint has been lodged with BMC’s N ward office and also with the local police, since over 1,000 trees will be impacted at the Vikhroli hillside. This is a sad reflection of how development prevails over trees.”As the complaint was filed recently, BMC officials have not yet given their feedback.“It is really sad to see Mumbai lose its green cover to so-called developmental activities. Both infrastructure projects of the govt and construction projects of the private developers are stripping away Mumbai’s tree cover. Instead of removing the trees, the land owners could have been given TDR to be used somewhere in non-ecologically sensitive areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. At this rate, Mumbai’s temperatures will keep shooting up. We need to protect every single tree standing in Mumbai.” .He added: “All talk of compensatory afforestation is humbug. If an independent audit is done, the truth of 85% failure of transplantation will be exposed. Sadly, the greed to make profits has made people forget their connection with nature.”Activist B N Kumar of NatConnect Foundation said: “While the permission to cut or transplant trees has already been given, the suggestions and objections of the local residents should also be taken. Otherwise, Mumbai seems to be on a hectic tree-cutting and mangrove-cutting spree.”Kumar added: “Mumbai’s per capita tree cover is abysmally low — about one tree for every four persons — against a global benchmark of three trees per person. Urban planners must adopt and adhere to the 3-30-300 rule, which calls for every resident to see at least three trees from their home, live in a neighbourhood with a minimum 30% tree canopy cover, and have access to a green space within 300 metres.”Nature lovers expressed that once trees are killed and ground filled with concrete, some fancy names like “green view” or “urban forest” will be given to the construction. One way or the other, Mumbai’s natural heritage is being decimated and nothing is being done.

NEW DELHI: A fresh political row erupted in Assam after Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife holds multiple foreign passports, prompting a sharp rebuttal and legal threat from the BJP leader.The controversy began with Khera’s press conference in Delhi, where he claimed to possess documents suggesting that Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, held three passports. “We have documents showing that Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, holds three passports. The first is a UAE Golden Card, the second an Antigua and Barbuda passport, and the third an Egyptian passport. Two of these belong to Islamic countries, yet they continue to claim religious adherence publicly,” he said.