Vikhroli Business City faces heat from MPCB, BMC after ignoring multiple pollution control warnings

MUMBAI: Despite explicit stop-work notices issued due to persistent dust and noise violations, construction activity at the massive 8

MUMBAI: Despite explicit stop-work notices issued due to persistent dust and noise violations, construction activity at the massive 8.8-acre Vikhroli Business City project has allegedly continued unabated, forcing state and civic authorities to seek urgent legal and police intervention.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has now approached the District Magistrate, Mumbai Suburban, under section 152 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to enforce the removal of the public nuisance. Simultaneously, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) dispatched a letter to the Park Site police station, asking officers to “take appropriate action as may be permissible under law, if any construction and activity is found to be continuing.”

Located at the prime junction of LBS Marg and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), the commercial development, managed by Mapletree and being built by L&W Construction Pvt Ltd, spans 3.7 hectares with a planned gross floor area of 2.3 million sq ft. However, the site has remained under heavy regulatory scrutiny for repeatedly flouting air-pollution control guidelines.

The BMC first served a stop-work notice to the project in January 2026, followed by an MPCB stop-work order on July 1. Early inspections by the pollution board recorded 10 distinct violations, including missing anti-smog guns, uncovered debris, and diesel-powered compressors operating without acoustic enclosures. Subsequent air-quality monitoring revealed PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations far exceeding National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

A follow-up visit on June 9 revealed that most deficiencies remained unaddressed, even as construction pressed on. The issue escalated to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which sharply criticised the regulatory lapse, remarking, “We fail to understand as to why despite the above violations having been noted by MPCB, closure order has not been passed till the compliances are made.”

During the MPCB’s latest inspection, four key violations were still active. The developer had failed to erect required 25-foot-high metal sheets along the site’s periphery and lacked water-sprinkling systems during the loading and unloading of raw materials.

A representative for contractor L&W Construction Pvt Ltd disputed claims that work was ongoing, asserting that operations had ceased about a month ago. However, when pressed about construction activity continuing between January and July, the representative offered no comment. The same representative had previously claimed to Hindustan Times that all pollution-mitigation measures were fully in place, promising to address official queries while maintaining the firm had not received a stop-work notice from the BMC.